Hamas arrests gunmen who stormed UN office in Gaza

GAZA, Jan 15 (Reuters) Hamas-led policemen arrested six gunmen who stormed into a United Nations office in the Gaza Strip today looking for foreigners to kidnap, a spokesman for the force said.

The spokesman, Islam Shahwan, said the gunmen, whose identities and affiliations he declined to disclose, had sought to seize international staff at the Khan Younis headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA's media adviser in Gaza, said no foreigners were present when gunmen, whose number he put at 10, barged in.

''We have detained six gunmen ... (and they) are now being interrogated,'' Shahwan said.

Gaza has been hit by a spate of kidnappings in which gunmen attempting to press the Palestinian government for jobs or to free prisoners have seized foreigners, all of whom have been released, usually within hours or days.

Recently, some kidnappers in Gaza sought ransoms but it is unclear whether any money was paid.

REUTERS LL RAI2004