Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have sacked several security chiefs for failing to stop lawlessness and chaos in the West Bank and Gaza, official sources said Friday.

No details were disclosed about whom have been sacked, but earlier reports said that Abbas sacked Yunis al-Has, national security chief for Ramallah, and requested the dismissal of his West Bank national security chief, General Haj Ismail Jaber. Earlier it emerged that West Bank intelligence chief TawfikTirawi had also offered to resign over the Wednesday shooting in Ramallah.

Abbas was unhurt by a group of gunmen shooting at his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday night. Shortly after it, the group went on a shooting rampage throughout the city and damaged several restaurants.

Abbas "was very upset about what happened in Ramallah and he will take other crucial measures in the near future," an official said, adding the leader was not happy with the performance of some of the heads of security forces.

After being elected in January as the new Palestinian leader to succeed late Yasser Arafat, Abbas vowed to impose law and order and reform corruption-tainted security forces after securing a truce with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

But he has met with resistance from militant groups who have been waging more than four years of "uprising" against Israel.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2005)