Palestinians mark Hamas bombmaker's death

Hundreds of militant Palestinians have attended a memorial rally in the West Bank town of Hebron for the second anniversary of the death of Yehia Ayash, the man Israel considered to be the chief bombmaker for the radical group Hamas.

During the rally, masked militants set fire to a small model of an Israeli bus -- a target of Hamas bombings -- and burnt Israeli and American flags.

Mr Ayash's widow urged Hamas to continue attacks on Israeli targets.

Mr Ayash who was nicknamed The Engineer was killed by a booby-trapped cellular phone in an operation widely blamed on Israel.

His death led to a number of bus bombings in Israel in early 1996.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service