A Palestinian man was fatally shot after reportedly carrying out a stabbing attack near a shopping centre in the southern Israeli city of Beer al-Sabe (Be’er Sheva), killing at least four people and wounding two others, it is reported.
The suspected attacker was identified by local media as 33-year-old Ahmed al-Qiaan, a teacher who hailed from the town of Hura in the Naqab (Negev) region, and had been imprisoned for alleged links to the ISIL (ISIS) group. He was shot by a passer-by at a petrol station, Israeli police said on Tuesday.
“It appeared to be a single terrorist who went on a stabbing spree,” police spokesman Eli Levy said on Tuesday, in remarks to Channel 13 TV. “A civilian took the initiative and shot and killed him.”
Medics said three women and a man were killed by the attacker, and that at least two other people were wounded, one critically.
Palestinian media reported that Israeli police carried out a raid in Hura later on Tuesday, shutting down roads and surrounding al-Qiaan’s residence. An Israeli court in 2015 had sentenced him to four years in prison after accusing him of being an ISIL member.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said in a statement that security forces were “on high alert”.
“We will act vigorously against terrorist operations. We will follow up and arrest those who provided them with assistance,” the statement read. /Argumentum.al
