16 May 2004	Sunday	25 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

GAZA CITY, May 15: A senior Islamic Jihad militant escaped unharmed from an Israeli helicopter missile strike in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Saturday, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.

Witnesses said the helicopter fired at least one missile which badly damaged the home of Mohammad al-Sheikh Khalil.

Sources within the radical group confirmed that Sheikh Khalil, who heads up its Al Quds Brigades military wing in the southern Gaza Strip, escaped unharmed.

The strike came just hours after Israeli helicopter gunships pounded targets in Gaza City in a failed attempt to eradicate the Islamic Jihad's top leader, Mohammed al-Hindi, who also escaped unharmed.

The assassination attempts came after a week in which 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, most of them in two deadly attacks claimed by the Islamic Jihad.

Elsewhere in Rafah, two Palestinians were injured when Israeli troops opened fire in the Salah al-Din area, Palestinian medics told AFP, saying a 45-year-old man was in critical condition.

The two incidents occurred just hours after troops withdrew from the flashpoint city on the border with Egypt.

Two soldiers were killed by Palestinian militants in Rafah on Friday. -AFP