IDF thwarts terror attack in Nablus

Troops confiscate suicide belts, arrest man who filmed bomber prior to attack.

By AP, JPOST.COM STAFF
nablus arrest 298 (photo credit: AP [file])
nablus arrest 298
(photo credit: AP [file])
IDF troops carried out a large-scale arrest raid in this West Bank city early Sunday, surrounding a building and detaining at least four people, Palestinian security officials said. About 20 army jeeps drove into Nablus before dawn, and the sound of explosions and gunfire could be heard across the city for several hours, residents said. The IDF said the operation thwarted a suicide bombing that had been planned for the coming days. The army confirmed four arrests, including two masterminds of the attack, and said it had confiscated two explosive belts. The bomber, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, had been arrested previously, military officials said. Two of the four men arrested were Tanzim operatives Yusef Yusef Abed Al Khader Sahli, 21, and Darwish Nimer Darwish Shafi, 24, both from the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. Both men were transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning during which they gave security forces the location of the two explosive belts which were hidden in their apartment.. Others arrested in Sunday's raid were Muhammad Abu Hamad, 20, who was suspected of being involved with Sahali's and Safa'ai's previous attacks on IDF troops, and 23-year-old Mahmoud Mahar, who was involved in photographing a suicide bomber, Muhammad Sa'aid, prior to his attack. The Nablus raid came just three days after a similar operation in the West Bank town of Ramallah, in which six Palestinians were killed and more than two dozen wounded.