(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)

Last night, February 16, 2005, an IDF force thwarted a terror attack attempt near the Israeli community of Bracha. An IDF force identified two armed terrorists who were approaching the Israeli community of Bracha, opened fire at them, and as a result, both terrorists were killed.

Assam Hamza Hamis Manzur, a Tanzim operative, 29 years old, from the refugee camp of Balata in Nablus, had been involved in planning attacks against IDF forces. Assam Manzur had been jailed in Israel from October 2001 to January 2004, and was released as part of the negotiations for the return the bodies of the three fallen IDF soldiers, who were kidnapped by the Hizbullah terror organization, on October 7, 2000, on Har Dov.

Mahayub Sati Yusuf Alkini, a Tanzim operative, 24 years old, from the village of Kalil, had been involved in previous attempts to attack IDF forces in Nablus.

Following searches conducted this afternoon near the Israeli community of Bracha, an IDF force uncovered an explosive device weighing 7-10 kg operated by a cellular phone. The terrorists were apparently planning to detonate the explosive device at Israeli vehicles that drive through the road to the Israeli community. The explosive device was detonated in a controlled manner by sappers. 

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which belongs to the Fatah movement, is behind the attack. Its operatives oppose the cease-fire and are operated by factions belonging to the Hizbullah terror organization.