In brief: Two suspects in abduction of teens killed in Israeli shootout

JERUSALEM – An Israeli army spokesman said two Palestinians suspected in the fatal abduction of three Israeli teens in June have been killed in a shootout with Israeli forces.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the suspects were killed in the West Bank today.

The teens’ abduction in the West Bank sparked a massive manhunt, leading to the arrest of hundreds of activists of the Islamic militant group Hamas and eventually sparking the summer war in Gaza.

The bodies of the three Israelis were found three weeks later and a suspected mastermind was arrested, but the two main suspects believed to have abducted and killed the teens had remained fugitives.

Lerner said the two, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh, were killed in the shootout.

Hamas had claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Explosion kills 12 in fireworks factory

BEIJING – An explosion at a fireworks factory in southern China killed 12 people and injured 33 others, the local government said today.

Two people were also missing following Monday’s blast, which shook Nanyang Export Fireworks Factory, the city of Liling in Hunan province said.

It did not say what caused the explosion but said it was a work safety incident. The factory is properly licensed, it said.

Workplace accidents are common in China because of lax enforcement of safety regulations, although safety standards are improving.

China is the world’s largest producer of fireworks, which are widely used to celebrate the lunar new year.

Bear suspected of killing hiker

WEST MILFORD, N.J. – A black bear believed to have attacked and killed a hiker over the weekend likely was looking for food and was circling the victim’s body when sheriff’s officers and wildlife officials killed it, officials said Monday.

The approximately 300-pound male bear was killed with two rifle blasts and is being examined at a state lab for more clues as to why it may have pursued the group of five hikers, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection said at a news conference.

Killed was Darsh Patel, 22, of Edison, who had come to the Apshawa Preserve, about 45 miles northwest of New York City, on Sunday with four friends.

DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese said the attack was the first fatal bear-human encounter on record in New Jersey.

Afghan soldiers located at border

BOSTON – Three Afghanistan National Army officers who went missing during a training exercise at a Cape Cod military base were detained Monday at the U.S.-Canadian border, Massachusetts law enforcement officials said.

Massachusetts state police were notified that the three were being questioned by federal authorities at Rainbow Bridge, which connects Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario, said spokesman David Procopio, who did not have further details.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Niagara Falls said they didn’t have the men in custody. Military officials said the Afghan soldiers had been participating in a U.S. Central Command Regional Cooperation training exercise at Joint Base Cape Cod. They arrived at Camp Edwards on Sept. 11 and were last seen Saturday.

Court nominee loses with Leahy

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s nomination of Michael Boggs to a federal judgeship in Georgia appears to have been doomed by his own party.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said in a statement Monday that the nomination of Boggs, a conservative Democrat who as a state legislator took tough stances against abortion and same-sex marriage, should be withdrawn. Boggs also came under fire for wanting to restore a version of the Confederate banner as the state flag.

Republicans continued to support Boggs, but Democrats hold a majority in the committee.