Three attackers opened fire near Jerusalem’s holiest site Friday, wounding three Israelis, two of them critically, before they were killed, Israeli police said.

Army Radio said the shooting took place near the sacred site known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount.

Police said the three attackers were killed by security forces. The Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom said two of the Israelis wounded were receiving life-saving treatment.

After the shooting, Israeli police declared Friday’s Muslim prayers will not be held at the sacred site.

The ancient, marble-and-stone compound houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, and the seventh century Dome of the Rock. Thousands pray there every Friday.

Police were still checking whether the gunmen, who were reportedly killed by security forces, were Palestinian, a spokesman said.

 
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