Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian ‘policeman’ killed in border firefight

Three Israeli soldiers were shot dead near the Egyptian border on Saturday June 3 by a “police officer” Egyptian who was shot dead, the Israeli army said. The Egyptian army, for its part, affirmed that a “member of the security forces chasing drug traffickers” crossed a checkpoint between the two countries. According to her, a “Exchange of fire with Israeli security forces” followed and “causes three deaths on the Israeli side and that of the member of the Egyptian security forces”.

For now, the circumstances of these exchanges of fire are still unclear. The first two Israeli soldiers killed began Friday evening a guard at an Israeli army post in the border area with Egypt, in the Negev desert, the scene of recurring incidents linked to drug trafficking. A hunt has been launched to find the suspect, a “police officer” Egyptian, who was located a few hours later in the same area, in Israeli territory.

“At noon, during the search, the Israeli soldiers identified the assailant in Israeli territory”, the army said. In the ensuing exchange of fire, the assailant was killed along with an Israeli soldier. “An investigation is being carried out in full cooperation with the Egyptian army”, adds the army. The latter will also try to clarify how the assailant managed to cross the barrier several meters high which runs along this border, said a military spokesperson.