Gaza terror group said to have rocket that could hit Ashkelon

[Colorado Blue]

The Popular Resistance Committees militant network, which has carried out a number of high-profile terror attacks in recent years, has said it has developed a rocket capable of striking targets 15 kilometers away - enough to hit southern Ashkelon, following the planned Israel Defense Forces pullout from the Gaza Strip, Army Radio reported yesterday. The group identified the rocket as a Sajil.

A breakaway organization, the PRC has resisted bids to cease attacks against Israel. Founded at the outset of the intifada by former Fatah and Tanzim member Jamal Abu Samhadana, the PRC consists of former Fatah members, including Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, as well as ex-Hamas and Islamic Jihad men.

The PRC is believed responsible for the October 2003 bombing of a U.S. diplomatic convoy at Beit Hanun, which killed three security guards and severely wounded a diplomat.

Among the other attacks attributed to the PRC are the November 20, 2000, bombing of a bus full of children as it passed near Kfar Darom, killing two and maiming several others, and a May 2004 terror ambush in which Gush Katif resident Tali Hatuel and her four daughters were shot dead.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/616822.html