Israeli troops kill three Palestinians in raids

TULKARM, West Bank, Nov 25 (Reuters) Israeli troops killed one Palestinian militant and wounded another in the West Bank city of Tulkarm on Sunday, a Palestinian security official and the army said.

Earlier, Israeli troops killed two Palestinian militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops operating in Tulkarm shot two Palestinians who were wanted by Israel, killing one and wounding the other.

A Palestinian security official identified the dead man as a member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.

Local residents in Gaza said two men were killed while Israeli forces operated close to the Mghazi refugee camp in the central part of the Gaza Strip. A spokesman for militants said one of the men was a member of the Islamic Jihad group and the other was aligned with the Popular Resistance Committees.

An Israeli spokeswoman said troops had spotted two men wearing magazine belts, one of whom was armed. The soldiers opened fire at the pair when they came close to the troops.

Israel has stepped up air strikes and military incursions since Islamist Hamas seized control of Gaza in June. Gunmen often lay ambush for roving Israeli commandos in frontier areas.

REUTERS SYU KP1946