NABLUS — The local head of the Palestinian militant group, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, has been killed in an Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank.

Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, 26, and two other people were killed during the raid on a house in the city of Nablus.

At least 40 people were injured, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a network of militias linked to Fatah, the Palestinian movement which controls the West Bank.

Israel has accused Nabulsi of leading a cell which carried out a spate of attacks against Israelis in the West Bank.

Three of his associates were killed in a raid in February, but Nabulsi escaped, Israeli media say. He subsequently evaded efforts to apprehend him.

Tuesday's raid saw Israeli troops use shoulder-launched rockets on the Nablus house in order to force Nabulsi out.

The exchange of gunfire at the house — and elsewhere in the city — resulted in the large number of injuries, some in a critical condition.

Israeli troops suffered no casualties.

According to Israeli media, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have co-operated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in launching a number of attacks targeting Israelis in the West Bank.

Israeli troops have carried out several raids in the West Bank recently, mainly to arrest PIJ militants.

It was the arrest last week of Bassem Saadi, said to be the top PIJ figure in the West Bank, which led to the pre-emptive Israeli air strikes on PIJ militants in the Gaza Strip over the weekend that resulted in the deaths of at least 44 Palestinians - including two top militant commanders.

The militants launched hundreds of rockets from Gaza, in which dozens of Israelis suffered minor injuries.

A ceasefire mediated by Egypt after three days of fighting entered into force on Sunday. — BBC