Posted on 06/29/2002 2:41:03 AM PDT by kattracks
HEBRON, West Bank, June 29 (AFP) - Israeli troops were searching Saturday for the bodies of 15 Palestinian militants reportedly killed when the army blew up a Palestinian administrative building in Hebron overnight.
The massive three storey building, which housed administrative and security offices and had been under siege since Tuesday, was reduced to rubble by two huge explosions.
Israeli military radio said 15 Palestinian militants bunkered in the building were "killed" in the operation, while army officers later said a search for the bodies was still on.
The 15 were wanted men from the Hebron region who belonged to the Tanzim, a term Israel uses for fighters linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, army radio said, quoting army officers.
They were accused of involvement in attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, the radio said.
Witnesses told AFP the barracks-like building buckled and tumbled into a pile of rubble after the explosions, which rocked the West Bank town of Hebron after midnight.
Israeli army radio said two tonnes of explosives were used in the demolition.
An AFP correspondent who toured the area saw a mountain of broken concrete rising from where the building once stood as dust settled over the area.
Hayat Masawdeh, whose house lies next door to the building known as the muqataa, said "they (Israeli army) cut the electricity and we could not see anything except for the flashlights of soldiers who moved from room to room.
"At first we thought they were looking for besieged people but later we understood that they were putting explosives inside the building," she said.
"Then suddenly there was this unbelievable noise, worse than an earthquake, " said Masawdeh.
"I hid my face under the blanket. When it was over I looked around and saw that my family was safe and sound, so I cried," she said.
A water tank and some television antennas stood awkwardly in the sea of rubble covered by a thick grey blanket of dust in the forefront of the building.
A number of cars, apparently abandoned outside the building by office employees when Israeli troops entered Hebron Tuesday, were destroyed. Some were flattened by debris, while others were blown into the air and landed on top of a nearby wall.
Saturday morning several Israeli bulldozers were clearing the rubble, while some of the troops that laid siege to the building were seen leaving the area by truck.
Before their departure, some soldiers took pictures of the remains of the building as well as of journalists posted on rooftops around it.
Residents, meanwhile, took stock of the damage.
The explosions were so powerful that houses and vehicles several hundred metres (yards) away were damaged, their windows blown in.
The army has reoccupied Hebron and six other key West Bank towns in retaliation for attacks on civilians that killed 31 Israelis. Only Jericho has been spared in the operation codenamed Determined Path
 |
| The Palestinian authority building is seen in the night in the West Bank town of Hebron June 28, 2002. Heavy explosions shook a Palestinian Authority police headquarters in Hebron on Friday after besieging Israeli troops entered the building where they believe militants have been hiding, a Reuters cameraman said. Photo by Loay Abu Haykel/Reuters |
After that they blew up the building.
They blow'd up good...real good...
Does anyone besides me find this sentence a little... Simpsonesque?
O J....or....Bart?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.