Gunman kills 3 Israelis, wounds 8

AFULA, Israel -- At least three Israelis were killed and eight others wounded when a Palestinian disguised as an Israeli soldier went on a shooting spree at the central bus station here on Thursday, authorities said.

A police volunteer on duty at the bus station shot and killed the gunman. Israel TV's Channel Two said the gunman began shooting after he arrived at the station by bus, The Associated Press reported.

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"We are talking about a terrorist who was dressed as a soldier and just started shooting in all directions," Nahum Zamir, a bus driver at the scene, told Israel Radio, according to Reuters news agency. "He shot from an automatic weapon."

Another witness said he was 50 metres (yards) away when the shooting started.

"I saw a soldier shooting. It was very short. ... He continued to shoot all over the station, at the shops. ... He looked like a dressed-up soldier with a red beret. ... I saw someone take an orange identification card out of his pocket," the witness told Reuters, referring to the document carried by Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli radio stations reported that police found a letter in Arabic -- apparently a suicide note -- on the gunman's body, Reuters reported.

The Afula bus station, not far from the West Bank, has been targeted for terror attacks several times in recent years.

Thursday's attack was the latest in a series that have marred a fragile cease-fire agreement reached last week in talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.