Israeli air strike kills 2 Palestinian militants

GAZA, June 5 (Reuters) An Israeli missile strike on a car in the northern Gaza Strip today killed two Palestinian militants and wounded three, witnesses said.

The Israeli army confirmed it had carried out the strike. A spokeswoman said the car was carrying a local militant leader, Majdi Hammad, who she said had been involved in firing makeshift rockets at Israel.

Hammad was initially wounded and died later in a Gaza hospital, medical staff said. Another militant, Emad Assalya, was killed instantly.

Israeli security sources said Hammad had also been involved in two unsuccessful attacks on the Karni cargo crossing point between Gaza and Israel in the past six months.

All the casualties were from the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group of militants.

The car was hit by three missiles fired from an airborne drone, witnesses said.

The Israeli military has carried out periodic air strikes in the Gaza Strip against militants who fire homemade rockets into Israel.

The rockets rarely cause casualties.

The strike followed several days of Palestinian factional violence in the coastal territory. Five Palestinian bystanders were killed in crossfire in incidents yesterday.

REUTERS SRS PM2345