Counterterrorism

Israeli soldiers shoot dead two Palestinian assailants - army

Israeli troops shot dead on Saturday two Palestinians who tried to stab soldiers at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, the military said, as a surge in violence showed no sign of abating.

Now in its fourth month, the wave of bloodshed has raised fears of wider escalation a decade after the last Palestinian uprising subsided. The military said in a statement the two Palestinians had tried to stab soldiers at Bekaot checkpoint. "The forces thwarted the attack and shot the assailants," it said.