Israeli forces killed three militants from the radical Islamic Jihad faction in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip Saturday, Palestinian medical officials and the Israeli military said according to DPA. Witnesses said an Israeli missile struck a car driving near the town of Khan Younis, an area where earlier this week Israeli ground troops engaged in heavy fighting with Palestinian militants. An Israeli military spokesman said the three had been on their way to carry out a suicide attack when they were struck. The Islamic Jihad confirmed the fatalities had been on a mission for the organization, but gave no further details. Initial reports had said the three belonged to the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella grouping of disaffected radicals which often works in concert with the other militant groups in the Strip.
