Israel forces raid W Bank city to arrest militants

NABLUS, West Bank, Feb 25 (Reuters) Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Nablus today, putting 30,000 Palestinians under curfew as soldiers searched for wanted militants.

Hundreds of soldiers and dozens of armoured vehicles cordoned off the centre of Nablus in what its governor, Kamal al-Sheikh, described as the biggest Israeli operation in the city since 2004.

At least three Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated bullets in confrontations with soldiers, ambulance workers said.

An Israeli army spokesman said troops used rubber bullets and tear gas against Palestinians throwing rocks and cement blocks and that two soldiers were slightly wounded by an explosive charge.

''Israeli forces in Nablus are acting against a broad terrorist infrastructure in order to prevent terrorist activity originating from the city,'' the army said in a statement.

Residents said soldiers announced over loudspeakers that a curfew would be enforced in the centre of Nablus, where 30,000 people live.

The army, which gave no time limit for the operation, also took over several radio frequencies, drowning out local stations to broadcast to residents the names of wanted militants.

Residents said the wanted men included members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, and the Islamic Jihad group.

Islamic Jihad, which carried out a suicide bombing that killed three people in Israel on January 29, did not sign on to a Gaza ceasefire that militants declared with Israel in November.

The group said it wanted the truce to extend to the occupied West Bank.

In a separate raid yesterday, Israeli forces uncovered an explosives laboratory in Nablus containing several pipe bombs and other devices, the army said.

Reuters SP VV1725