Hamas arrests 20 Salafi militants in raid

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GAZA CITY, Gaza, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A Salafist militant group said 20 of its fighters were arrested by Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip and that rockets and light weapons were taken away.

The group has a long history of conflict with Hamas authorities, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported.

The Salafist Jihadist Groups in the Environs of Jerusalem said Tuesday that "families of the fighters were assaulted by security forces" during the arrests.

The group said Hamas was seeking information about fighters who fired rockets into Israel and conducted an assault on Egyptian forces in the Sinai in June that killed 16 officers.

Jihadist Salafist groups have denied involvement in the Sinai attack.

Israel has assassinated several Salafist leaders and Hamas has detained others.

The Salafist group targeted this week warned Hamas there would be consequences for the arrests.

In 2009, 28 people were killed in a Hamas raid on a mosque where a Salafi imam had declared an Islamic emirate in Gaza.