Middle East Gunned Down in Tunis

The murder of Arafat's deputy ignites fresh Palestinian fury

Khalil al-Wazir was sitting in the study of his comfortable home outside Tunis reading field reports when the muffled fire of submachine guns mounted with silencers disturbed the early morning quiet. Instinctively, al-Wazir drew his pistol. But the gesture was futile. The intruders, a commando unit of seven men and one woman, had already killed al-Wazir's Tunisian driver and two Palestinian bodyguards. Then, with the brutal efficiency of a well-trained hit squad, they turned their fire on al-Wazir and riddled his body with a prolonged spray of bullets. Al-Wazir, 52, Yasser Arafat's most trusted lieutenant, who was known worldwide by his...

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