Photographer killed by Israeli tank fire

An Italian freelance photographer was killed by Israeli tank fire in the West Bank town of Ramallah today.

The journalist, identified by colleagues as Raffaele Ciriello, 42, was on assignment for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

A witness to the shooting, fellow journalist Amedeo Ricucci, said he and his colleague were following Palestinian gunmen through the centre of Ramallah a when the Israeli tank appeared from around the corner.

He said soldiers on the tank fired a machine gun from about 150 yards without warning, striking Ciriello in the stomach.

Ricucci and another colleague, both of whom work for Italian television Rai Uno, were not hurt.

‘‘Suddenly a tank appeared from a corner and it opened fire,’’ Ricucci said. ‘‘There was no fighting in the area.’’

An army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Rafowicz, expressed regret at the report of the death, but declined to discuss the circumstances until more information has been gathered.