(15 Aug 2009)
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Pan right of ambulance carrying body of Abdel-Latif Moussa, leader of al-Qaida-inspired group Jund Ansar Allah, who reportedly blew himself up after a gun battle between the group and Hamas
2. Mid of ambulance
3. Moussa's body being carried out of ambulance
4. Wide of men praying
5. Pan right of men crying, pan left
6. Various of funeral procession
7. Various of crowd burying body
8. Pan left from crowd to burial site
STORYLINE
Supporters of Abdel-Latif Moussa, the leader of an al-Qaida-inspired Islamist group in Gaza, came out in droves on Saturday night to bury the man who allegedly blew himself up after a fierce gun battle between the group and Hamas.
Hamas crushed Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, one of a number of small, shadowy groups that are even more radical than Hamas, in an hours-long standoff that came to a fiery end when a large explosion killed the radical Muslim group's leader inside his Gaza home on Saturday.
The fighting was sparked by a rebellious sermon by the group's leader, and his dramatic death put an end to the greatest internal challenge to Hamas' rule since it took control of Gaza two years ago.
Television footage showed the body of Moussa being carried by his supporters from an ambulance to a burial site in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
In all, the fighting claimed 24 lives - including that of a senior Hamas official who Israel says masterminded the abduction of an Israeli soldier.
It was the highest death toll in the territory since the Israel-Hamas war earlier this year.
The decisive confrontation, in which 95 members of the Jund Ansar Allah were arrested, solidified Hamas' iron rule in Gaza.
The crackdown highlights Hamas' desire to limit its struggle to the Palestinian cause and to distance itself from militants espousing al-Qaida's ideology, though the United States, Israel and others consider Hamas a terrorist organisation.
The fighting broke out late Friday when Hamas security men surrounded a mosque in Rafah where about 100 members of Jund Ansar Allah were holed up.
Moussa provoked Hamas by declaring Gaza an Islamic emirate during a Friday prayer sermon and warning its leaders against invading his mosque.
The Hamas forces raided the mosque, setting off a fierce gun battle.
Moussa escaped with some bodyguards to his home where another standoff ensued.
Early Saturday, an explosion went off as Hamas was trying to convince Moussa to surrender, said a Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman.
The spokesman said Moussa committed suicide, killing a mediator who had been sent to him to persuade him and his followers to hand themselves over to the government.
It is unclear whether Moussa detonated the explosives vest he was wearing, or whether it was one of his bodyguards.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said 24 people were killed, including six Hamas police officers and an 11-year-old girl.
At least 150 people were wounded, the ministry said.
Jund Ansar Allah first came to public attention in June after it claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to attack Israel from Gaza on horseback.
The group claims inspiration from al-Qaida's ultraconservative brand of Islam, but no direct links have been confirmed.
The group has been critical of Hamas for not imposing a more severe form of Islamic law and for maintaining a cease-fire with Israel for the past seven months.
Hamas says it does not impose its religious views on others, but only seeks to set a pious example for people to follow.
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