Hamas fighters attack Army of Islam clan's base
By Ismail Rabah
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas security forces attacked the homes of several members of the Army of Islam early yesterday in a continuing campaign against the armed group that in the past year kidnapped two Fox News journalists and correspondent Alan Johnston from the British Broadcasting Corp.
The forces arrested members of the group in at least 12 houses inside the still-barricaded area where the powerful Doghmush clan lives.
A journalist employed by the British-based Conflictzones news agency heard one firefight at 3:30 a.m. yesterday. He said it lasted 10 minutes and included rocket-propelled grenades.
Hamas sources said that most of the men arrested were young — some still in their teens — but that they had been in possession of weapons and explosives.
The Army of Islam has kidnapped several locals and Westerners besides the three journalists. Sometimes calling itself the Righteous Swords of Islam, it has destroyed Internet cafes and hair salons — places that hard-line Islamists say corrupt the morals of Muslims.
It was the Swords of Islam group that sent e-mails and messages to local news organizations just after Mr. Johnston was seized March 12, although later CDs and Internet postings were attributed to the Army of Islam.
Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas' most senior leader in the Gaza Strip, said in an interview last week that Hamas would continue to clamp down on the Army of Islam and the Doghmush clan that dominates it.
"The operation that led to Johnston being set free, the operation against the Doghmush clan, is far from over," he said.
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