A Border Policeman and an Israeli security guard were moderately to seriously wounded Saturday evening when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli roadblock near the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Saad.

The security forces returned fire, killing the two gunmen. A Palestinian bystander was killed in the crossfire.

The security forces - two security guards and two Border Policemen - were manning the roadblock on the Jerusalem bypass road when they were ambushed by militants.

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The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

The wounded guards were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics at the scene of the incident and evacuated to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem.

A police sapper examined the bodies of the slain gunmen for fear that they might be booby trapped, and large police forces, including a helicopter, combed the area in search of any additional Palestinian militants.

This is the second time in six months that security forces have come under fire at the Sheikh Saad roadblock.

Later Saturday, a firebomb was thrown at an Israeli vehicle west of Ramallah causing no casualities and no damage. Two other firebombs were uncovered by Israel Defense Forces troops who searched the area.