Lion’s Den Terror Cell Figure Killed in Shechem

Tamer Kilani, a senior member of the Lion’s Den terrorist cell, was killed early Sunday in a motorcycle explosion in Shechem, according to Palestinian reports.

Some of the reports claimed that a bomb was attached to Kilani’s motorcycle and that this was an Israeli operation. However, other reports said the blast was caused by a “mishap” after Kilani tried to mount an explosive device on his motorcycle and failed.

The Lion’s Den, which was responsible for a number of recent terrorist attacks, blamed Israel for his death and promised a “painful response.” However, at this time, there is no evidence to suggest that this was not simply an accident and Israeli authorities have not commented on Kilana’s death.

Kilana’s death is reminiscent of the killing of Hamas terrorist bomb maker Yahya Ayyash in Gaza in 1996. Israeli security agents managed to get close to Ayyash and replaced his mobile phone with another that had a small explosive placed inside, When Ayash answered that phone it exploded, killing him.

At the same time, the forces operated in the village of Abda, in the area of the Yehuda regional division, to arrest two wanted persons, and in the Dheisha refugee camp, in the area of the Etzion division, to arrest two more wanted persons.

There were no injuries reported to Israeli forces and the arrested wanted persons were transferred for further investigation by the security forces.