An Israeli soldier was shot dead Tuesday near a settlement in the occupied West Bank in an attack claimed by Palestinian militants, the second deadly assault on armed forces in less than a week. “Two assailants arrived in a vehicle adjacent to the community of Shavei Shomron and shot live fire” towards troops, the Israeli army said, announcing one of the soldiers was killed. The shooting was claimed by “The Lions’ Den”, a loose coalition of Palestinian fighters which has emerged in recent months. “We announce carrying out a second shooting operation targeting occupation (Israeli) soldiers in the Deir Sharaf area, west of Nablus,” the group said. Israeli forces are in pursuit of the assailants following the attack near Nablus in the northern West Bank, the military added in its statement. An AFP journalist saw security forces deployed in the area and checking vehicles. Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz vowed to “get our hands on the terrorist and those who helped him”, writing on Twitter. The soldier killed was named as 21-year-old Ido Baroukh.