Masked fighters from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's military wing "Saraya Al-Quds" or "Jerusalem Brigades" held a military drill during a rally in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah today to mark the 15th anniversary of the fatal shooting in Malta of Fathi Shqaqi, the group's founder.

He was shot five times in the head as he was about to enter the Diplomat Hotel in Sliema on October 26, 1995. His assailants are believed to have been agents of the Israeli Mossad secret service who escaped from the scene on a motorcycle and are thought to have left Malta on a boat.

Shqaqi was in Malta on a stop-over on his way to Damascus after having met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli. He was travelling under the false name Ibrahim Ali Shawesh and his true identity was not known until four days after the shooting when a statement was issued in Lebanon.

His funeral in Damascus was attended by some 4000 people and the shooting led to an upsurge of Middle East violence.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.