BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 26 (UPI) -- Hamas held Israel responsible for the killing of an Islamic Jihad official in south Lebanon slamming the crime as a "major dangerous escalation."
A Hamas statement released Friday in Beirut said "the criminal explosion clearly indicates the responsibility of the Zionist entity and its agents."
It said the "Zionist crime is a major dangerous escalation by the enemy to expand the scene of the confrontation and turn away attention from continuous crimes committed inside the Palestinian territories."
Security sources said the Islamic Jihad official and his brother have been killed in a car explosion in south Lebanon Friday.
Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother Nidal succumbed to grave wounds they suffered when the car placed near their house in the city of Sidon, 25 miles south of Beirut, exploded as they passed next to it, the sources said.
Nidal died on his way to a local hospital, while Mahmoud succumbed to his injuries a couple of hours later before an emergency surgery could be conducted to save him.
Earlier reports said the explosive charge was placed under Majzoub's car and that it blew up as he turned the ignition.
Police said the charge was detonated by remote control.
