Israeli troops kill 5 in West Bank clashes
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-15 13:47

Israeli troops killed at least five Palestinian militants in the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday, witnesses said.

A military spokeswoman confirmed operations were under way but declined to comment on casualties. "Our troops were attacked while in Nablus and returned fire," she said.

Witnesses said four of the dead men were believed to belong to al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group inside Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. Medics could not immediately access the clash site to identify the bodies.

Israel has recently stepped up operations against West Bank militants spearheading a four-year-old Palestinian uprising. On Monday, an Israeli air strike killed three al-Aqsa men in Jenin.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, for a state. Israel plans to pull out of Gaza in 2005 and fears the moved could embolden West Bank militants to escalate their attacks.

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