Groups Behind Bomb Attack in Eilat

-- Two Palestinian groups, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, claimed joint responsibility for Monday's suicide bombing in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat. A look at the groups:

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ISLAMIC JIHAD: A radical group backed by Iran and Syria, it has been behind most of the Palestinian attacks against Israel since the sides declared a truce in February 2005. The group says the violence is a legitimate response to an Israeli crackdown. Its militants in the Gaza Strip fire homemade rockets at Israel on a daily basis.

The group is believed to have at least 7,000 militants in Gaza, with hundreds more in the West Bank, armed with automatic rifles, grenades and anti-tank weapons.

Islamic Jihad is led by Ramadan Shallah, who lives in exile in Syria. The group considers the 1979 Iranian revolution the start of a new era for the Muslim world and wants to turn all of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic state. It rules out compromise with Israel.

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AL AQSA MARTYRS BRIGADES: A group affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, it is considered more moderate but has carried out numerous suicide attacks against Israelis.

It has at least about 20,000 members, many of whom are also part of the official Palestinian security services. The group has a large arsenal, including homemade rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, land mines, heavy machine guns and automatic rifles.

The group does not have a central command, and its members often carry out rogue attacks.