Four Palestinian bodies found in West Bank

The bodies of four Palestinians have been found in the West Bank after a night of gun battles between Palestinians and Israeli troops.

Events began when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israeli troops near the village of Beit Iba.

After a heavy exchange of fire, one of the gunmen was missing and his friends asked residents of Beit Iba to help search for him.

Dozens of villagers began combing the olive groves near the village, said a member of the search party, Yassid Ismail.

At one point, three of the villagers also went missing, and searches concentrated on a major road near the village used by Jewish settlers and Israeli troops.

When ambulances approached the area, the villagers came under fire from Israeli troops, Ismail said.

At daybreak, the group saw four bodies in the area, the villager said. Israeli troops permitted ambulances to take away the bodies of the three villagers, but kept the body of the gunman, Ismail said.

The three villagers were identified as Hakem Tayeh, 22, Fadi Samani, 25, and Zahir Ismail, 30. Hospital officials in Nablus said one of the men had been shot 10 times.

The gunman was identified as Ahed Fares, 23, from the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.

The gunmen belonged to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.