Israeli missile kills three Gaza militants

GAZA, Aug 21 (Reuters) An Israeli missile strike killed three Palestinian militants today in the southern Gaza Strip near the border fence with Israel, medical workers and local residents said.

The attack came one day after an Israeli missile strike killed six Hamas militants in one of the deadliest attacks since the Islamist group seized the coastal territory in June.

An Israeli army spokesman said today's attack was carried out against militants seen operating near the border fence.

Residents initially reported a missile hitting a car, but witnesses later said the gunmen were on foot. It was not immediately clear to which organizations the militants belonged.

Palestinian ambulance crews collected three bodies at the scene, and witnesses said the men were in military-style clothing.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militant in the city of Nablus, Palestinian medical staff said.

Residents from a refugee camp in Nablus said 38-year-old Nasser Mabrouk of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular militant group, was killed during a clash with Israeli troops.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops shot a gunman.

REUTERS LPB KN1658