Explosion Kills PLO Official

An explosives-laden car blew up and burned today, killing a man identified by the Palestine Liberation Organization as a high-ranking PLO military officer.

Arab sources said the 44-year-old man, identified as Monder Jaoudad Abu Gazala, was commander of the PLO’s naval force based in Sanaa, North Yemen. Police said the rented car blew up in a quiet Nea Smyrni suburban street at about 2 a.m., killing the driver instantly. Officers said he may have been trying to plant a bomb when the car blew up. A spokesman for the PLO’s diplomatic mission in Athens said the victim was a senior member of Al Fatah’s National Palestine Council.