Israeli troops kill three Palestinians

Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip killed three Palestinians after the soldiers disturbed a group of men apparently setting up an ambush on a road used by Jewish settlers, Israeli military sources said.

The sources said that according to a preliminary investigation, troops spotted four men, at least two of them armed, heading after nightfall toward the Kissufim road, leading to the Gush Katif group of settlements in the southern Gaza Strip.

When the men spotted the soldiers they split up and two tried to flee in a waiting car. The soldiers fired, killing the two and also the getaway driver, the sources said, adding that the road had been the site of many ambushes in the past.

They said at least one weapon was found in the vehicle.

A search was launched for the remaining two men.