Israeli troops arrested a senior leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of mainstream Fatah movement early morning in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Palestinian security sources said Monday.

The Israeli troops detained Moneer Abu Dakka, the lieutenant colonel in the Palestinian intelligence and a senior member of the Al-Aqsa brigades, and took him to an unknown place, said the sources.

Nearly 25 Israeli armored vehicles accompanied by several bulldozers under the cover of Israeli Apache helicopters raided the town of Abasan in Khan Younis and stormed the residents' houses, added the sources.

Meanwhile, Salah el Dein Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee claimed responsibility for firing three homemade rockets of Nasser at the Israeli town of Sederot, said the sources.

In another development, Israeli troops stationed in the settlement of Morag in southern Gaza town of Rafah shelled the residents' houses haphazardly, causing severe damage.