Hamas police close in on rival Islamists holed up in Gaza house

Hamas police in the southern Gaza Strip surrounded a building where Muslim extremists were holed up on Wednesday, trying to quell a rare challenge to the territory's militant Islamic rulers.

The standoff began Wednesday morning when four Jund Ansar Allah militants inside the building refused to surrender to police in the southern town of Khan Younis for an interrogation, Hamas security officials said, calling them outlaws.

Jund Ansar Allah claims inspiration from al-Qaida, but no ties have been confirmed.

Residents said five Hamas jeeps surrounded the area, and Hamas police set up a checkpoint leading to the building. It was not clear why the men were wanted.

Hamas, a violently anti-Israel group backed by Syria and Iran, seized power in Gaza more than two years ago and has ruled with a firm hand. However, a small number of shadowy extremist groups have emerged as an opposition of sorts, seeking to enforce an even stricter version of Islamic law.

At nightfall Wednesday, the Jund Ansar Allah militants remained holed up inside the apartment in Khan Yunis, while prominent Muslim scholars were trying to negotiate their surrender. Hamas police kept reporters away.

Jund Ansar Allah warned on its Web site that the men in the building would blow themselves up if Hamas tries to move in. The statement said the men would not surrender until Hamas officials returned weapons confiscated from the group.

Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, came to public attention in June after it claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to attack Israel from Gaza on horseback. It is unclear how many members it and similar extremist groups in Gaza have.

The groups have criticized Hamas for not imposing Muslim law in Gaza and are upset that the Hamas regime had agreed to a cease-fire with Israel over the past six months.

Hamas has said it seeks to set an example and does not impose its views on others. It also says its violent struggle is against Israel, not the Western world.

The hard-line groups are perhaps the most serious opposition to Hamas, which has crushed the influence of its main rival, Fatah, since taking power in a 5-day civil war in June 2007.

61 hurt as blast rocks wedding of ex-Fatah man's relatives

Earlier Wednesday, a bomb exploded at the wedding of a relative of a former senior Fatah security official in the Gaza Strip, wounding more than 61 people, a hospital official said.

The explosion occurred late on Tuesday in Khan Younis during the wedding of a cousin of Mohammed Dahlan, national security adviser for President Mahmoud Abbas until the Gaza Strip was seized by Hamas.

Dahlan, reviled by Hamas supporters over crackdowns he led against the group when he was head of Fatah-dominated Preventive Security service in the Gaza Strip in the 1990s, moved to the West Bank after Fatah lost control of the territory.

He did not attend the wedding.

Muawya Hasanein, a hospital official, said 52 people were wounded in the blast.

Ihab al-Ghussein, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip, said some 30 people were hurt, including the bridegroom, Mahmoud Dahlan.

In the West Bank, Mohammed Dahlan accused Hamas members of planting a bomb near the wedding stage. He said that after the explosion, they threw other explosives into the crowd and fired shots. Hamas denied any involvement.

A police spokesman said three people were arrested. He did not identify them.

A relative who took part in the celebration and asked not to be identified said the family believed that "hatred for Mohammed Dahlan" was the motive for the attack.