Israeli soldiers gunned down a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank town of Jenin on Thursday, said Palestinian medical and security sources.

Ahmed Ismail Khatib, 12, was hit by a bullet in the head, when a group of Palestinian teenagers threw stones at the Israeli soldiers patrolling in Jenin, said the sources.

According to the sources, Israeli soldiers were conducting a search for a wanted militant of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) in Jenin before a gunbattle erupted, during which Khatib was killed.

Since a Jihad suicide bomber from Jenin killed five Israelis in the Israeli city of Hadera in late October, Israeli troops have been mounting its military operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in an effort to rein in militants attacks.

Source: Xinhua