Gaza City, Sept 10: The military wing of the radical Islamic group Hamas said today it was responsible for two suicide attacks which left 15 Israelis dead as well as the bombers. "Our painful operations are a message to tell the enemy that we can strike even when it deploys the highest security measures as it did yesterday," the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades said in a statement received by a news agency here.

"We have sent a message to the terrorist Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Nazi gang to tell his government, by the grace of god, we can attack our targets where and when we want." Israel had been on a heightened state of alert after a failed assassination attempt against Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on Saturday.

Yassin had vowed in the aftermath that Israel would be taught an "unforgettable lesson."

Bureau Report