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Israeli troops kill Palestinian gunman in West Bank

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 14:31 CDT

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian militant in the West Bank on Monday during an exchange of fire that ensued after they tried to arrest him, the army and Palestinian witnesses said.

Soldiers arrived at the house of the gunman, a member of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, in the village of Beit Sahur, near Bethlehem, and called for him to surrender. A gunbattle broke out between them and troops shot him dead, witnesses said.

An army spokeswoman said the soldiers arrived at the building with the intention of arresting the militant and fired at him inside the house after spotting him toting a rifle. Palestinian medics later confirmed his death.

A suicide bomber from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group within Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, killed four Israelis in the West Bank last week in the first such attack in months.

It was unclear whether the militant was suspected to have been involved the bombing.

Later on Monday, Palestinian hospital officials in the West Bank town of Ramallah said a 16-year-old youth was killed in a shooting incident with the Israeli army.

An army spokeswoman confirmed that troops had fired at two youths after calling on them to stop as they tried to cut through a security fence, although she could not confirm the death.

Source: REUTERS

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