Israeli commandos swooped down on a terrorist safe house laden with explosives Thursday, killing three Islamic militants and squelching what Prime Minister Ehud Barak said would have been a major terror attack. Israeli authorities said the three guerrillas who died during the siege in this Arab town in northern Israel — as well as a fourth in captivity and a fifth believed to be on the run — belonged to Hamas, a group opposed to the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin said he was unaware of what his organization’s military wing was planning. Police detected signs of life from within the house — more than 12 hours into the siege, a man was seen moving inside the house. A shootout ensued, triggering a live explosive device that brought half the house down. A man inside was believed to have been buried under the rubble.
