A Palestinian suicide bomber is suspected to have been behind an attack on an Israeli gunboat off the Gaza coast overnight, a military source said Tuesday.
A boat exploded near the Israeli vessel but caused no injuries or damage to its apparent target, a military spokesman said earlier.
The military source said initial inquiries indicated that a fishing boat laden with explosives had come from Egypt to make the attack. It blew up on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
No organization immediately claimed responsibility for the blast which, if confirmed, would be the first attack aimed at the Israeli navy since the current wave of violence broke out in the occupied territories on September 28.
Last month a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up near an Israeli army position in the Gaza Strip, in an attack claimed by the extremist Islamic Jihad group.0000
And in the Yemeni port of Aden a boat carrying explosives blew a hole in the side of the US guided missile destroyer Cole, killing 17 of its crew, in an apparent suicide attack which has also not been claimed -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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