Israeli troops kill two Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, in what witnesses described as a running skirmish, touched off by an army raid near a flashpoint town.

Witnesses said Israeli troops clashed with gunmen before dawn, wounding one. Two other gunmen drove away with him, and after unloading him with local residents, continued in the car, pursued by the troops until they were shot, said the witnesses.

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An army spokesperson said troops opened fire on the car after being shot at, and that there were no Israeli casualties. There were bloodstains inside the vehicle, which crashed into a wall during the incident.

Palestinian group Isla­m­­ic Jihad claimed the two dead men as its members. One of them was also claimed by Al Aqsa Mar­tyrs’ Brigades, an armed offshoot of the Fa­­tah faction. “We are in deep sorrow but we will hit back twice as hard,” said a Isla­mic Jihad gunman during the funerals in Jaba.