An Israeli helicopter gunship fired missiles at a car in the divided West Bank city of Hebron late on Monday, killing a Palestinian militant leader and his bodyguard, witnesses and security sources said.
It was the first attack of its kind since the Israeli army pulled out of most major West Bank cities and towns three weeks after launching what it described as a campaign to smash "terror infrastructure" behind a wave of suicide bombings.
The Israeli army confirmed that a helicopter fired rockets in Hebron, but would not say what it had targeted.
Witnesses said one of the dead men was Marwan Zuloum, whom Palestinian security sources described as the Hebron leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as well as a senior member of a special Palestinian police unit.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is a group affiliated with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction and has launched suicide attacks against Israelis.
The other dead man was identified as Samih Abu-Rajab, Zuloum's bodyguard and a member of Arafat's Force 17 presidential guard.
Israeli security sources said Zuloum was behind a number of attacks against Israelis.
The missile strike just before midnight (0900 GMT) demolished the car the two men were riding in, close to the centre of the Palestinian-ruled part of Hebron.
Hundreds of angry onlookers spilled into the streets shouting for revenge.
Israel has killed scores of militants it has accused of mounting suicide attacks. Palestinian officials call it state-sponsored assassination and the practice has drawn international condemnation, but Israel says it is acting in self-defence.
(China Daily April 23, 2002)
