4 dead as Hamas, clan battle in Gaza City

Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:36 AM EDT

world-news, gaza, palestinians, ml, gaza-city

Hamas police waged a fierce gunbattle against members of a heavily armed Palestinian clan in a crowded neighborhood Tuesday, leaving three clan members and one policeman dead, officials said Tuesday.

Machine-gun fire and explosions were audible around the neighborhood home to the Doghmush clan, a notorious family with links to both militant and criminal groups. Members of the clan were responsible for kidnapping a British Broadcasting Corp. journalist last year.

The fighting was the worst violence in Gaza since nine people were killed in an early August clash between ruling Hamas and another clan tied to the rival Fatah movement.

Since violently taking over Gaza last year, Hamas has moved to establish order in Gaza's once-chaotic streets and eliminate groups who could threaten its rule.

Three Doghmush militiamen were killed Tuesday, along with one policeman, said Ihab Ghussen, a spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry.

No immediate confirmation was available from the Doghmush clan. Earlier, the family posted an announcement on a Gaza Web site saying several of its members were hurt.

Police surrounded the Doghmush compound late Monday after a clan member killed a policeman while resisting arrest earlier in the day. Fighting erupted after the clan refused to turn the man over, Ghussen said, and appeared to die down after about nine hours.

Ghussen said the three dead militiamen were responsible for killing the policeman Monday.

The battle raged outside the house of a senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, who lives in the same neighborhood.

The fiercely independent and widely feared Doghmush clan includes members close to Hamas' Fatah opponents, as well as members of Islamic militias that have been allied with Hamas.

Those militiamen took part in the capture of an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid in 2006 and others who seized BBC journalist Alan Johnston and held him for nearly four months last year.