IDF troops nab 2 terror suspects in Nablus

Earlier, Palestinians report two killed in raid in West Bank town; local Al-Aksa leader said to be among dead.

By JPOST STAFF, AP
nablus 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
nablus 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
An IDF Givati Brigade force in Nablus on Tuesday night arrested two Palestinian terror suspects who had been on the run from troops since Monday night, the army said. The two were found hiding in a building in the West bank town. In the back yard of the building, soldiers found guns and ammunition. Also Tuesday night, a Kassam rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip landed south of Ashkelon on Tuesday night. No one was wounded and no damage was reported. Earlier, IDF troops shot and killed a Palestinian gunman and an elderly civilian in a predawn raid in the West Bank town, Palestinian witnesses and doctors said. At least two exchanges of fire broke out after soldiers on patrol in Nablus's Old City, a terror stronghold, took up positions on rooftops and began detaining terror suspects, the witnesses said. A local leader of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades was killed, and two other members were injured, they said. A Palestinian man, 70, was shot just as he left his house in the area and later died of his wounds, his family and doctors said. An IDF spokesman said troops identified hitting armed men in an exchange of fire. It expressed regret over the killing of the civilian, but said it was not clear if he was shot by Israeli troops or Palestinian gunmen. Residents frightened by the shooting stayed in their homes even as day broke. Witnesses said at least five operatives were arrested. The IDF conducts operations against Palestinian operatives almost nightly in Nablus.