Israeli special forces kill 3 Salafi jihadi terrorists in West Bank

Suspects plotted a series of attacks against Israel and the PA, including attempt to kidnap an IDF soldier, bombings.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Counterterror soldier 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Counterterror soldier 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Two Salafi-jihadi terrorists who were in the middle of planning a terror attack for the coming days were killed in a counterterrorism mission in the village of Yatta, near Hebron, the Shin Bet announced Tuesday evening.
The Palestinian terror suspects were in a car that had explosives and firearms in it, when they were met by the counterterrorism unit and additional special forces, who were sent to intercept the vehicle, a senior IDF source said.
Israeli forces opened fire at the car’s wheels, and the suspects fired back. Following an exchange of fire, the two suspects were killed, the source said.
A little over an hour after the firefight that killed the two terrorists, security forces engaged a third armed suspect. The terror suspect was shot dead in the exchange. There were no injuries reported among security forces.
The suspects had plotted a series of attacks against Israel and the Palestinian Authority, security forces stated, and spent recent months preparing in a hideout.
Alleged plots include an attempt to kidnap an IDF soldier, and bombings.
Security sources said more details would emerge in the course of the investigation, saying that the raid had not yet ended and that additional members of the terrorism cell were still being pursued.
“We found two explosive devices in the car. [The bodies of] two men [who] were armed [were] inside,” the source said.
Security forces began making arrests linked to the cell in recent days in the southern West Bank. Initial suspicions are that they were part of a local group driven by extremist religious ideology.