3 Palestinian cops killed in Gaza suicide bombing

CAIRO – 28 August 2019: Security sources said Wednesday that a suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint in Gaza as he detonated explosives on his bike after barking it near the Dahdouh intersection.

At least three Palestinian police officers were killed and three others were wounded as two explosions hit the police checkpoints near Gaza City, according to authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.

“Two members of the police were martyred as a result of an explosion that took place near a police checkpoint at the Dahdouh intersection,” Hamas-run Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozm said.

The Strip’s Hamas-run health ministry said two people were killed and a third man suffered serious injuries in the explosion. The ministry initially blamed the blast on Israel, but later retracted the claim.

The third man later died of his injuries.

The dead were identified as Salameh al-Nadim, 32, Wael Khalifa, 45, and Alaa al-Gharbali, 32, all traffic policemen.

Minutes later another blast hit a second police checkpoint west of Gaza City, wounding three people, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.

An interior ministry statement called the bombings isolated incidents and said that they had initial information on the identity of the attackers, but did not release further details.

“We reassure our people the security situation is stable in the Gaza Strip and affirm that these suspicious explosions–that seek to cause confusion in the internal arena–are isolated events that will not impact this [stable security] situation,” the statement said. “The wicked hands that perpetrated this crime will not evade punishment”

The explosions also come amid heightened tensions between Israel and terror groups in the Strip, following a series of rocket launches and attempted cross-border attacks by Palestinian gunmen.