IDF FOILS BID TO KIDNAP SOLDIER

IDF Foils Bid to Kidnap Soldier - Avi Issacharoff
The Israel Air Force killed six Palestinian militants from Islamic Jihad and the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Thursday in a missile strike on their vehicle as it approached the security fence in central Gaza. "The planned attack included the taking over of an IDF post and the abduction of an IDF soldier," an army statement said. Also Thursday, three Palestinian militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed and six others wounded in an IDF strike in southern Gaza. IDF troops backed by tanks and bulldozers moved a kilometer inside Gaza to strike at Palestinian militants.

Also Thursday, IDF undercover troops arrested a senior Islamic Jihad militant in the West Bank city of Jenin. Ahmed Salah was armed with an assault rifle and two suicide belts when he was arrested. He put up no resistance, and led troops to his vehicle, in which some 30 explosive devices were found. (Ha'aretz)