Six killed in Jerusalem shooting attack

Six people have been killed and six others seriously wounded in an attack by Palestinian gunmen in Jerusalem, paramedics and police say.

Israeli police said "two terrorists arrived in a vehicle" and opened fire towards a bus stop at Ramot Junction, on the city's northern outskirts. A soldier and a civilian returned fire, and "neutralised" the attackers, it added.

Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said the dead included three men in their 30s, one woman in her 50s, and one man in his 50s. Eight people are being treated for gunshot wounds at local hospitals.

There was no immediate claim from any armed groups, although Hamas praised the attack.

During a visit to the scene, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was in a "intense war against terror on several fronts".

"A pursuit and encirclement of the villages from which the terrorists came is under way," he said.

The Israeli military said soldiers were surrounding several areas on the outskirts of the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to "thwart terrorism and strengthen the defense effort".