Kidnapped Israeli teens shot 10 times with silenced gun

Three Israeli teenagers who were abducted by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank last month were shot at least 10 times with a silenced gun in what appeared to be premeditated killings, a US official involved in the investigation said.

"There were 10 gunshots," added the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The use of a silencer led US investigators to believe the captors planned to kill the three teenagers from the outset, the US official said.

Israeli officials declined to respond to the American account of the investigation, saying it was still ongoing.

"We haven't even caught the kidnappers yet, so we're not going public with anything more now," said an official with the Shin Bet security service, which is in charge of the case.