Three Israeli soldiers were killed Sunday evening in a shooting attack on a road in the area of the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian sources informed Al Bawaba.
One other Israeli soldier was moderately injured in the attack on a vehicle patrolling near to the settlement of Ofra and the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud, Israeli press reports said.
Israel Radio reported that the assailants also threw an explosive device at the patrol. After taking the dead soldiers' rifles, the attackers fled the scene.
Following the attack, Israeli troops stormed into Ein Yabrud to conduct searches.
A spokesman for the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades told The Associated Press its members carried out the ambush.
"A group of our fighters attacked an Israeli patrol in Ein Yabrud, killing and injuring many soldiers," he said by telephone.
Speaking a short time after the shooting, Israel's Justice Minister Yosef Lapid condemned the attack, saying that "the Palestinians don't realize the disaster they are bringing upon themselves." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
