DAMASCUS, Sept 26: A bomb killed a Hamas official in Damascus on Sunday when it tore through his car. The Palestinian militant group blamed Israel for the death and vowed revenge.

Izz el-Deen al-Sheikh Khalil, 42, died when he started the engine and an explosive charge under the driver's seat ripped through his SUV in the Az-Zahera neighbourhood of Syria's capital, witnesses said.

Palestinian sources in Gaza said Khalil was believed to be in charge of Hamas's military wing outside the Palestinian territories. Three passers-by were wounded. Israeli officials declined comment on any possible Israeli involvement in Sunday's attack. "I don't know anything about it," acting Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said. But he added: "I am glad."

Were Israel to have carried out the attack, it would be a rare foray into Syria - only the second in around 30 years. A neighbour who identified himself only as Nabil said: "He (Khalil) said good morning to us like he does every day and then walked to his car.

"He got into the car and then the phone rang. When he took the call we heard the explosion. We rushed towards his car and found him in pieces in the back seat." The blast shattered windows in high-rise buildings and damaged a nearby car. A spokesman in Gaza for Hamas said the killing was "a cowardly crime by the Zionist Mossad", a reference to Israel's Mossad spy agency.

REVENGE: Al Jazeera television said Hamas was threatening to strike Israeli targets abroad, but spokesmen in Damascus and Beirut said Hamas would launch attacks only inside Israel and the Palestinian territories in keeping with the group's policy.