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Deadly attack in Tel Aviv

June 8, 2016

Four people have been killed and several more wounded after Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a popular nightspot in Tel Aviv. The attack is one of the worst in a wave of violence plaguing the region in recent months.

https://p.dw.com/p/1J3L7
Tel Aviv attack
Image: Reuters/A. Awad

The shooting spree reportedly occurred in the Sarona Park neighborhood in the heart of the city, near the headquarters of the Israeli Defense Ministry and the German DPA news agency's Tel Aviv office. The shooting happened days after more than 35,000 foreign tourists came to Tel Aviv for the city's annual gay pride parade.

Witnesses reported that police managed to overpower one gunman once he had run out of ammunition, while another sniper initially remained on the run. The Agence France-Presse news agency reported that the two assailants were cousins from the West Bank city of Hebron.

Tel Aviv attack
Police said they had no intelligence on attacks being imminent.Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Guez

"Of the two terrorists, one was arrested and the other wounded by gunfire," Tel Aviv police chief Chico Edri told reporters.

"We are talking here about a pretty serious terrorist incident," he added. Police sources also said they had no advance intelligence of any plan to strike in Tel Aviv.

'Terrorist Attack'

Four people died during the killing spree. Two others were seriously injured, and six others had wounds with varying degrees of severity.

The police confirmed it was a militant attack, but could not give any details of the attacker or victims.

Israel has suffered a wave of violence since October 2015, which began with dozens of knife attacks launched by Palestinians protesting the ongoing occupation. The wave of violence had appeared to have calmed down in recent weeks.

ss/bw (dpa, AFP, AP)