Palestinian assailant kills two, shot dead

JERUSALEM: A Palestinian assailant, firing from a car, killed a pedestrian and a police officer in Jerusalem on Sunday before being shot dead by Israeli police,

JERUSALEM: A Palestinian assailant, firing from a car, killed a pedestrian and a police officer in Jerusalem on Sunday before being shot dead by Israeli police, police and medical officials said.

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The incident, near Israeli national police headquarters, began when shots were fired from a vehicle at people waiting at a tram stop, the spokeswoman said.

The assailant then drove off and was shot dead in an exchange of fire with police, she said.

Medical officials said six people were wounded in the attack, and that two of them, a woman and a police officer, died in hospital. Police identified the assailant as a 39-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem.

In the past year, Palestinians have killed at least 35 Israelis and two visiting Americans in attacks. During that period, at least 220 Palestinians have died in violent incidents in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.