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Sunday, August 5, 2012

Armed militants attack Egyptian army outpost, try to infiltrate Israel border

One of the armored vehicles used in the attack.

IDF Spokesman confirms: Sinai Islamist militants attacked Egyptian outpost, killed between 10 and 15 Egyptians, stole Egyptian armored vehicles; The IDF shot at one of the vehicles, and it exploded.

Armed militants from the Sinai peninsula attacked an Egyptian military outpost, and tried to infiltrate the border with Israel on Sunday, the IDF spokesman confirmed on Sunday.

The spokesman said that at 8 P.M. on Sunday evening, GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Tal Russo, who was at the Amitai base in southern Israel, heard shooting from the area near the Kerem Shalom border crossing, on Philadelphi Road, on the border between Israel and Gaza.

“After the fact, we learned that a group from the Sinai took control of an Egyptian military post, killed between 10 and 15 Egyptians, and stole two armored vehicles called Fahds. At 8:05 P.M., one of the vehicles exploded at the Kerem Shalom crossing, and another breached the border fence and entered Israeli territory. A few moments later, we hit the vehicle from the air.”

At this point, the IDF still does not know if the first armored vehicle contained explosives or not. First reports of the situation indicate that there were no IDF casualties, and there was no attempt to kidnap Israelis or IDF soldiers.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, briefed GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Tal Russo, Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, director of Military Intelligence, and other senior officials in the IDF and Shin Bet on the situation near Kerem Shalom.

According to the IDF Spokesperson’s unit, the event has not ended, and as such all residencies in the Kerem Shalom area have been instructed to folllow IDF Home Front Command orders, in case additional armed militants have found their way into Israeli territory.

According to the IDF, there is definitely no connection between these events and the attack that happened earlier on Sunday, in which a militant was killed from the air, in order to prevent an attack.

Earlier on Sunday, An Israel Air Force craft targeted a motorcycle travelling in the Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, killing one militant and wounding another.

Extensive rocket and mortar fire at the Eshkol Regional Council on Sunday evening was in response to the earlier event, and not connected to the Sinai militants. Sunday evening.

Also on Sunday evening, dozens of rockets and mortar shells exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel. Residents of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near the meeting point of the Egypt-Israel-Gaza borders, were told to stay in their homes, for reasons of safety.

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