Israel border attacks signal weakening Egyptian control of Sinai
Militants killed at least five Israelis in an attack on southern Israel. Israel Radio reported that the militants were dressed in Egyptian uniforms, and fired on a bus and cars from across the border.
Israeli emergency personnel stand near a bus after it was ambushed north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat August 18. Several people were killed when gunmen fired at Israeli vehicles near the Egyptian frontier on Thursday, Israeli TV said, attacks likely to raise concerns about the ability of Egypt's new leadership to rein in militants along the border. frontier with Egypt.
Lior Grundman/Reuters
Tel Aviv
Militants carried out a series of attacks on Israeli buses and cars on a highway near the border with Egypt midday Thursday, highlighting the deteriorating stability along the open frontier between the two neighbors.
The coordinated attacks on at least three separate targets north of the city of Eilat, which left at least five Israelis dead and dozens injured, were unprecedented for the usually quiet border region. Surprised by the scope of the attacks, Israel security forces killed at least two militants in a shoot-out lasting at least an hour.
The army termed it a terrorist incident. "This was a complex and well-planned attack," said Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the Israeli army’s chief spokesperson in an interview with Israel Radio.
