Israel Hints It Cleared Killing of Gaza Islamist With US

Israeli Army Spokeswoman Implies US Involvement

Mohammed Nimnim, a commander in the Army of Islam group in the Gaza Strip, was assassinated today by the Israeli government in what Gaza security forces say was a car bombing, with an explosive planted under the driver’s seat of his car.

Israeli military officials confirmed the attack, saying they had worked with Shin Bet on the assassination and describing Nimnim as a “ticking bomb” who was planning attacks in Sinai.

That Israel assassinated somebody is hardly news, however. Rather the Israeli military spokeswoman’s response to questions regarding US involvement has raised speculation that the US indeed “cleared” the assassination before it happened.

Without getting specifically into more details, I can tell you there is very good cooperation between us and the Americans” the spokeswoman insisted.

The “Army of Islam” group is an al-Qaeda styled movement, and has recently clashed with the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. The group was also involved in the kidnapping of BBC reporter Alan Johnston in 2007.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.