GAZA, Dec. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad (Holy War) announced on Wednesday that it had successfully test fired a homemade rocket with a range of 18 kilometers.

   Saraya al Quds, armed wing of Islamic Jihad, said in a leaflet that the rocket was developed to counterbalance the well-equipped Israeli army forces.

   "The engineering unit developed a new rocket called Quds 2, with a length of 2.2 meters and a capacity of carrying 6 kilograms of explosives, and it can hit targets 18 kilometers away," said the leaflet.

   The group said that its militants test fired the newly developed rocket for the first time a few days ago at the southern Israeli city of Sderot.

   "The first rocket reached and hit its target. A second rocket had been fired at Ashkelon," said the group, adding that it would deliver the videotape of the test fire to the media soon. 

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