Friday November 23 6:10 PM ET

Hamas Says Senior Military Leader Killed by Israel

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior military leader of the militant Islamic group Hamas, was killed on Friday by an Israeli missile strike near the Palestinian West Bank town of Nablus, two Hamas spokesmen said.

Abu Hanoud was one of the top Hamas militants sought by Israel, which had tried to kill him several times in the past.

``Based on information given to the Abu Hanoud family by the pathologist in Jenin hospital, it was confirmed that the body belongs to Mahmoud Abu Hanoud,'' said Adnan Asfour, a Hamas spokesman in Nablus.

A Hamas spokesman in Jenin said doctors at the hospital where his charred remains were taken had ``announced the death of Abu Hanoud.''

Hanoud was killed along with his deputy, Ayman Hashaikah, and a third man when Israeli helicopters fired missiles at their car in the West Bank earlier on Friday.

The fact that the body parts were dismembered and burned

had delayed identification, Palestinian officials said.

Hanoud's death was bound to enflame passions in the 14-month-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation which erupted shortly after peace talks stalled.

Hamas, which opposes Israel's existence, has mounted a bombing campaign which has killed scores of Israelis since the uprising began.

Israel has killed some 70 Palestinian militants it says are behind attacks on Israelis since the revolt flared. Palestinians call the killings -- which have been condemned internationally -- assassinations.

-- Anonymous, November 23, 2001