Two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in West Bank: Palestinian ministry

Two Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The ministry announced the death of Imad Abu Rashid, 47, who "was killed by the Israeli occupation, after being shot in the abdomen, chest and head".

In a later statement, it announced the death of Ramzi Sami Zabara, 35, "from a critical wound by the occupation (Israeli) bullets in the heart, in Nablus".

The Israeli army said in a statement it had received information "regarding a shooting attack from a moving vehicle" on a military target near Nablus.

"Soldiers conducting routine activity in the area identified two suspicious vehicles and responded with live fire towards them, hits were identified," it added, without specifying whether any fatalities had occurred.

Local sources told AFP that the two men, who hailed from Askar camp near Nablus, were members of the Palestinian Security Forces and were killed during an armed clash with the Israeli army at Huwara, south of Nablus.

The incident is the latest in a deadly week in Nablus, where Israeli forces have conducted regular raids and imposed tight restrictions on movement.

On Tuesday, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli operation in the city targeting a nascent militant group called "The Lions' Den".

The group is a loose coalition of fighters that emerged in recent months, in parallel with a sharp rise in Israeli raids on the northern West Bank.

This week, an army spokesperson told AFP the group had carried out "approximately 20 terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces over the past month".