Baby Among 11 Dead After Hamas Raids Criminal Gang's Gaza Base

Forces from Hamas, the Islamist movement in control of Gaza, attacked a compound belonging to a powerful criminal gang yesterday in a heavy street battle that left 11 dead, including a baby boy.

The fighting began on Monday when a Hamas policeman was killed with a shot to the head while Hamas forces were trying to arrest a wanted member of the Doghmush clan inside the headquarters of the Gaza municipality. After the shooting, Hamas mounted a major raid on the clan in al-Sabra in eastern Gaza.

The attack lasted until dawn yesterday, with heavy fighting in the streets of the city. Another Hamas policeman was killed along with 10 members of the clan, all young men apart from two children, a boy aged one and a 16-year-old, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. A further 42 people were injured.

Hamas said its forces had been involved in an operation against "fugitives".

It marked one of the heaviest days of fighting in Gaza for several weeks and was part of a long-running attempt by Hamas to challenge some of the powerful gangs in Gaza, of which the Doghmush is perhaps the most dangerous. The clan is believed to have been responsible last year for the kidnap of Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist held in Gaza for nearly four months before being freed unhurt. The Doghmush is also thought to have links to newly emerging Islamist groups in Gaza, including one calling itself the Army of Islam.

Some in the Doghmush have been allied to Fatah, the movement led by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank, while others are close to Hamas and are believed to have taken part in the capture of an Israeli soldier near Gaza two years ago. The soldier, Gilad Shalit, is still being held.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights called for an investigation into the incident and said it was investigating reports that after the first Hamas police officer was killed on Monday the original Doghmush suspect, Jameel Doghmush, was taken to the policeman's home and shot dead by several gunmen in an apparent act of revenge.

Yesterday's attack follows an incident in early August when 11 people were killed as Hamas confronted another powerful Gaza clan linked to the rival Fatah movement.