Israeli troops kill Palestinian gunman in W.Bank

QALQILYA, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed a Palestinian gunman in the West Bank town of Qalqilya on Thursday, local residents said.

The Israeli army confirmed troops were operating in the area and that a gun battle had taken place but a spokeswoman had no further details.

The residents said the gunman was a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction. He was killed during a heavy exchange of fire in the central West Bank town.

The gunman is the fourth Palestinian to be killed in the occupied West Bank this month by Israeli troops.

Israeli-Palestinian fighting has been eclipsed in past few days by fierce battles between Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, where forces of the governing Islamist Hamas movement appear to have overtaken many strongholds belonging to Fatah.

At least 33 Palestinians from both factions were killed in clashes in Gaza on Wednesday.