Israel kills 2 Palestinians, including gunman

NABLUS, West Bank, Oct 8 (Reuters) Israeli troops today killed a Palestinian militant and a Palestinian civilian near the West Bank city of Nablus, witnesses said.

Palestinian witnesses said the gunman, from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was shot in Balata, a refugee camp near Nablus. Two other members of al-Aqsa, an armed wing of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, were wounded.

The army said there were no Israeli casualties. Al-Aqsa is among factions spearheading a six-year-old Palestinian revolt.

Israeli soldiers later shot dead a Palestinian civilian who tried to bypass a military checkpoint west of Nablus, Palestinian witnesses said. A Palestinian medical official in a hospital in the city confirmed the man's death.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment.

Reuters PB DB2011