Gunbattle erupts in Jenin, Israelis shot in W.Bank

JENIN, West Bank, Mar 16 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen fought each other in the West Bank city of Jenin today, hours after gunmen shot and wounded two Israeli motorists near a Jewish settlement.

The spike in violence followed the army's capture of six Palestinian militants in a West Bank prison raid on Tuesday. The captives included a faction leader accused of ordering the 2001 assassination of a far-right Israeli cabinet minister.

In Jenin, soldiers came under heavy fire from gunmen holed up in a house in the city during an operation to arrest them. The army declined to comment on whether there were Israeli casualties in the raid.

Palestinian residents said a fierce gun battle was under way at the house where a group of gunmen from the Islamic Jihad militant group were trading fire with troops surrounding the building.

Earlier toay, Palestinian gunmen shot and wounded two Israeli motorists near a Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank. The Israelis were taken to hospital with light to moderate wounds, the army said.

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