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Six killed in Gaza when unexploded munitions blow up

by Reuters
Wednesday, 13 August 2014 10:40 GMT

GAZA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Six people, including three members of a Palestinian police bomb disposal unit, were killed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday when unexploded ordnance blew up, medical officials and police said.

A foreign journalist, who was not immediately identified, was among the dead, the medical officials said.

The explosion occurred in Beit Lahiya, a town in the northern Gaza Strip that had been the scene of fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.

In a statement, the Gaza police force said it mourned the deaths of three of its men, identifying them as the head of the local bomb squad, his deputy and another officer. It said an unexploded Israeli shell had detonated.

A three-day ceasefire, in effect since Monday, has given Palestinian bomb disposal experts an opportunity to search for unexploded munitions.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Jeffrey Heller/Mark Heinrich)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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