Jerusalem truck attack 'likely inspired by ISIL'

Israel is reeling from a truck attack on a group of soldiers in Jerusalem, which killed four and wounded 13 others. Police identified the driver as a Palestinian.

It was the deadliest attack in Jerusalem in months. Visiting the site Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters the attacker is likely to have been inspired by the so-called Islamic State.

“We are here after a brutal and tragic terror attack where four soldiers were murdered, three female soldiers and a male soldier. We know the identity of the attacker, according to all the signs he was a supporter of the Islamic State. We have blockaded Jabel Mukaber, the neighbourhood he came from,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

A witness told local media that the truck ploughed into a crowd of people, before reversing back over them. The driver was shot dead at the scene.

At least 37 Israelis and two visiting Americans have been killed over the past 15 months in a wave of street attacks. Some 231 Palestinians have been killed in Israel, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza strip during the same period.