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Three Soldiers Killed in West Bank Ambush

(Yediot Ahronot-Hebrew) Arnon Regular and Ran Reznick - Three soldiers were killed and another seriously wounded Sunday in a shooting attack on an IDF patrol guarding the main highway north of Jerusalem, between Ofra and the Arab village of Ein Yabrud. The area has been the scene of repeated Palestinian gunfire attacks on Israeli vehicles. The soldiers were ambushed from the rear by three gunmen hiding behind a low concrete wall who fired at close range with M-16 and Kalashnikov assault rifles. The soldiers killed were Sgt. Elad Polak, 19, from Kiryat Motzkin, Sgt. Roi Ya'acov Solomon, 21, from Tel Aviv, and Sgt. Erez Idan, 20, from Rishon Letzion [Photos - (IDF)]. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an off-shoot of Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack. (Ha'aretz) After the initial attack, the terrorists came up to three of the soldiers lying on the ground, shot them again to ensure they were dead, stole their weapons, and escaped in a waiting car. The wounded soldier who survived escaped only because he was hidden by bushes. Head of Central Command Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky said if the patrol had not been in the area, the terrorists would have reached the highway and opened fire on innocent Israeli civilians.
2003-10-18 00:00:00
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