Palestinians say 1 dead in Israeli raid in W Bank

JENIN, West Bank, May 14 : Israeli troops killed a Palestinian officer today during a raid on a Palestinian intelligence headequarters in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian security source said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

The Palestinian source said the soldiers shot dead Ali Omar Jabarin, a 21-year-old intelligence officer, and wounded four of his colleagues during an exchange of fire in the headquarters in the town of Jenin.

The Israeli Web site YNetnews said the soldiers entered the building in search of a wanted Islamic Jihad militant.

Israel mounts frequent military raids in the West Bank against suspected militants. Some members of the Palestinian security forces also belong to militant groups behind attacks on Israelis.

Earlier in the Gaza Strip, masked gunmen shot and wounded a Palestinian bodyguard for an intelligence chief reporting to President Mahmoud Abbas, security officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting, another case of internal violence in the Gaza Strip where rivalry between the governing Hamas group and Abbas's Fatah faction has led to bloodshed in recent weeks.

Reuters