Hamas clashes with Islamist hardliners in Gaza strip, two wounded

Two men of a Salafist group and followers of an ultra-conservative form of Islam suffered bullet wounds during an attempt to arrest by Gaza security forces, a witness said.

Hamas clashes with Islamist hardliners in Gaza strip, two wounded

Gaza: One police officer and a youth were hospitalised on Tuesday as Hamas forces clashed with hardline Islamists in the Gaza Strip, a medical source and witnesses said.

Two men of a Salafist group and followers of an ultra-conservative form of Islam suffered bullet wounds during an attempt to arrest by Gaza security forces, a witness said.

The young man was in serious condition who was believed to be a Salafist, while the policeman`s condition was not life threatening, the medical source said.

A grenade was thrown at security forces when they were raiding a house in Al-Fukhari in the southern Gaza Strip, sparking clashes, the witness said.

Hamas is an Islamist party which rules Gaza is frequently criticised by more conservative Islamists, including hardliners who sympathise with the Islamic State group.

The hardliners sporadically fire rockets at Israel, prompting retaliation against Hamas targets.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from Gaza, regardless of who launches it. 

In an unrelated incident, a fighter of Hamas`s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed accidentally.

"Ahmad Mansour, 30 and from Jabalia in northern Gaza, died on Monday night when a grenade exploded by accident," a Qassam statement said. 

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