Clashes between Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip and supporters of an armed group whose leader had declared the Palestinian territory “an Islamic emirate”, have left at least 20 people dead.

The fighting errupted in the town of Rafah on Friday after Sheikh Abdel-Latif Moussa, the religious leader of the group and imam of the Ibn Taymiya mosque, called for Gaza to be ruled by sharia (Islamic law).

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza reported on Saturday that Moussa and several supporters – all members of Jund Ansar Allah (Soldiers of the Companions of God) – had been killed in the clashes.

Police in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, earlier investigated two battle sites, looking for bodies and trying to identify Moussa’s whereabouts, according to reports.

“The ministry of interior in Gaza has essentially declared that the operation has been completed,” Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin said.

Dr Moaiya Hassanain, of the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, said 22 people, including six Hamas police officers and an 11-year-old girl, were killed and another 150 were wounded.

Moussa was killed when fighting resumed after dawn on Saturday, Ihab Hussein, a Hamas interior ministry spokesman, told the Associated Press news agency.

“Abdel-Latif Moussa was killed in an explosion,” he said. “It’s not clear whether he was killed from an explosives belt he was wearing or from Hamas gunfire.”

Sharia demand

The fighting began at the Ibn Taymiya mosque after Moussa’s speech on Friday.

Hamas security forces seized control of the building after several hours of heavy clashes.

Some of the fighters holed up inside then managed to escape to Moussa’s home.

“We are today proclaiming the creation of an Islamist emirate in the Gaza Strip”

Sheikh Abdel-Latif Moussa, leader of Jund Ansar Allah

Scores of people were wounded in the fighting outside that building, several of them critically, medical officials said.

Taher Nunu, a Hamas government spokesman, said that the Hamas leadership was engaging in an operation against “outlaws” and called on Moussa’s followers to surrender to the authorities.

Jund Ansar Allah seeks a Palestinian legal system based purely on the sharia and has accused Hamas of being too liberal.

The group is said to have threatened to burn down internet cafes, and has called for people using Gaza’s beaches to dress more modestly.

“We are today proclaiming the creation of an Islamic emirate in the Gaza Strip,” Moussa had told worshippers at the mosque on Friday.

‘Support at mosque’

Moussa said that if Hamas were to implement sharia, he would immediately instruct his followers to comply with the group’s instructions.
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Several dead in Gaza mosque clash