Israeli Soldiers Kill 4 Guerrillas in Reprisal Attack

Israeli soldiers killed four Palestinian guerrillas near the occupied West Bank town of Hebron, the army said today, in a retaliation attack for the murders of three Jews.

It said the four belonged to a cell that murdered two hikers whose bullet-riddled bodies were found in hills outside Jerusalem on Saturday, and that was responsible for one earlier murder.

The army said another guerrilla was wounded and captured in the encounter on the southern slopes of Hebron. The statement did not disclose when the incident occurred or whether the group fired back.

Informed sources said the army had set an ambush Sunday night for the cell, whose members have been hunted for weeks.

The statement said the group had been active in the Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem areas of the West Bank and was also responsible for the murder of a Jewish settler in Ramallah last March.