Tel Aviv - Israeli soldiers stationed on the southern border of the Gaza Strip early Monday killed three armed Palestinians who were placing bombs in the area, witnesses reported.

There was no immediate Palestinian hospital confirmation.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the soldiers opened fire after they spotted the three militants placing bombs. She said a large explosion occurred as a result of the shooting because one of the bombs being held by the militants detonated, she said. The incident took place near the Sufa border crossing between southern Gaza and Israel.

The Israel Air Force also launched an airstrike at another group of armed militants in the area shortly afterwards, both sides reported. Three militants of the radical Islamic Hamas movement were injured, one of them seriously in the airstrike east of Khan Younis, Palestinian medical officials said. (dpa)