Gunmen kill four worshippers in Jerusalem synagogue complex

Two assailants armed with a gun, knives and axes stormed a synagogue complex in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of West Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, killing at least four worshipers during morning prayers, according to the police.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the city in years, coming during a period of soaring tensions in Jerusalem, fueled by a dispute over a sensitive holy site in the Old City known to Muslims as the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, or the Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as Temple Mount.

Police who arrived at the scene shot the attackers dead. Initial reports suggested that they were Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem.

At least a dozen others at the synagogue were wounded, according to authorities.

In recent weeks, Palestinian individuals have carried out several vehicular assaults and stabbings against Israelis in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Tel Aviv, killing three civilians, a soldier and a border police officer.

In another incident, a Palestinian gunman from East Jerusalem attempted to assassinate a prominent Jewish activist who has pushed for more Jewish access and prayer rights at the volatile holy site. The gunman was later killed in a shootout with police; the Jewish activist, Yehuda Glick, survived.