(news) Moussa Arafat Assassinated, page 1

Former Palestinian ex-security Chief Moussa Arafat has been assassinated in Gaza. The cousin of Yasser Arafat was dragged from his home by masked gunmen. The attack has been claimed by the Popular Resistance Committee but reasons have not yet been given for his murder. General Arafat was fired as Security Chief earlier in the year but had a new job as Presidential Security Advisor.

www.latimes.com
JERUSALEM — Unidentified gunmen in the Gaza Strip shot and killed Moussa Arafat, a former Palestinian Authority security chief and a cousin of the late Yasser Arafat, at his home in Gaza City before dawn today.

The brazen assault heightened worries about chaos and factional violence in the Gaza Strip following Israel's withdrawal from all 21 Jewish settlements there. Israeli forces are expected to hand over the Gaza Strip in coming weeks, turning the impoverished enclave into a test of Palestinian rule.

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This killing is serious business as Arafat was a senior and visible (not to mention corrupt) official. It also demonstrates that the area is a landmine of tension waiting to go off.

According to other sources '20 cars carrying masked men' were seen around his villa, so this wasn't a secret assassination by any means.

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[edit on 7-9-2005 by nikelbee]