Gaza gunmen fire on house of Hamas lawmaker, kill bodyguard

[Behind the Aegis]

Unidentified gunmen fired at the home of a Hamas lawmaker in the south Gaza Strip on Wednesday, witnesses said, killing one of his bodyguards in what appeared to be the latest attack in a Palestinian power struggle.

The lawmaker, Younis al-Astal, was not hurt in the shooting in Khan Younis town. He is considered among the more hardline figures in Hamas, an Islamic militant group that ousted the more moderate and long-dominant Fatah faction in January elections.

Gaza and the West Bank have seen spiralling violence between Hamas and Fatah supporters since unity government talks broke down earlier this week. At least 14 people have died, including a Hamas leader shot by gunmen near his mosque in the West Bank city of Qalqiliya on Wednesday.

The factional clashes overshadowed a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who seeks to restart a "road map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace.


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