Israel says arrested militants planning train attack

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday it arrested four members of a Palestinian militant group last month and accused them of planning to attack an Israeli passenger train.

An Israeli army spokesman identified the militants as members of an Islamic Jihad cell based near the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

An Islamic Jihad leader in Ramallah said the group was not aware of any such raid targeting its members in the area.

The army spokesman said the men were arrested during a December 17 raid in which the army and Shin Bet security service discovered an Islamic Jihad explosives lab.

The spokesman said the four arrested men had planned a series of attacks, including one targeting train passengers traveling between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The details of the raid were not made public until Thursday. (Reporting by Brenda Gazzar in Jerusalem and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah; Editing by Giles Elgood)