Nitzanei Shalom (Israel): A Palestinian militant shot and killed two Israeli security guards early this morning in a factory on the border between Israel and the West Bank, the Israeli military said.
Medics pronounced the two middle-aged guards dead at the scene, rescue services said, and troops began combing surrounding areas for traces of the assailant.
No Palestinian militant group immediately claimed responsibility. Palestinian security officials in the nearby town of Tulkarem said soldiers moved into the West Bank in force and set up a checkpoint. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press.
The small industrial zone where the attack took place, Nitzanei Shalom, contains Israeli factories but is located just on the Palestinian side of the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank.
The military said it was possible the gunman penetrated the industrial zone's security or entered legally as one of many Palestinian workers employed there.
The West Bank is controlled by the moderate Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas, who is negotiating a peace deal with Israel.
There have been few shooting attacks in the area in recent years, but Israel has repeatedly said Abbas government is not yet capable of controlling militants in the territory.
