Soldiers hurt in Jerusalem attack

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Emergency services at the scene of the attack

About a dozen soldiers have been wounded in an apparent attack in central Jerusalem, Israeli police say.

They say a man drove his car into the group at a busy intersection, before being shot and killed.

Police said the driver was a Palestinian and described the incident as a "terror attack".

The road junction is close to the boundary between the Jewish and Arab areas of Jerusalem. Two of those injured are in a serious condition.

The attacker has been identified in the Israeli press as Qassem al-Mughrabi, a 19-year-old Palestinian resident of the al-Farouk area of East Jerusalem.

'Turned his car'

The incident took place just before 2300 (2000 GMT).

A black BMW mounted the pavement and hit a group of Israeli soldiers, who were wearing their uniforms.

Jerusalem police chief Aharon Franco said that a Palestinian resident of the city was driving the car.

"He turned his car towards a group of soldiers who were at an intersection," he said.

"The car then hit a wall, and a soldier shot and killed the terrorist."

It is the third such incident in recent months in Jerusalem.

On two previous occasions, Palestinian construction workers from East Jerusalem have driven diggers into oncoming traffic, killing three Israelis and wounding several others.

The attack came only hours after Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni accepted an invitation from the president to form a new government.

The request followed the resignation on Sunday of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who faces several corruption inquiries.