An Egyptian soldier gestures to a helicopter. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Egyptian soldier killed in gun battle with IDF soldiers on Gaza border.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
An Egyptian soldier was killed Monday after a gun battle erupted between IDF and Egyptian troops stationed on the border separating Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
It is unclear what initiated the gunfight, though Israeli military sources told Hebrew-language media outlets that the incident was sparked by Egyptian soldiers who opened fire on IDF troops, prompting the Israeli soldiers to return fire.
The Egyptian soldiers reportedly shot at an IDF engineering corps unit operating on the edge of Rafah.
The Israeli army has launched an investigation into the incident, an IDF spokesperson said.
Egypt confirmed that one soldier was killed in the gun battle, adding that Cairo has opened its own probe into the shooting.
“The Egyptian Armed Forces are conducting an investigation through the competent authorities regarding a shooting incident in the border area in Rafah, which led to the martyrdom of one of the personnel,” the Egyptian army tweeted Monday.
A report by i24NEWS claimed that two Egyptian soldiers were killed Monday, with several more wounded.
Israeli security officials contacted their Egyptian counterparts to halt the shooting.
Last year, a 22-year-old Egyptian police officer, Muhammad Salah Ibrahim, opened fire and killed three IDF soldiers on the Israeli-Egyptian border.
Ibrahim was reportedly carrying a copy of the Koran with him at the time of the attack, along with several handguns, multiple knives, and additional ammunition – suggesting that he was possibly intending to carry out a larger attack within Israel.
Several months later, on October 8th, a gunman shot and murdered two Israeli tourists in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria.
The gunman was later apprehended by local police, and claimed he was carried out the shooting after he was provoked and lost control of himself.
Earlier this month, a dual Canadian-Israeli citizen, Ziv Kiefer, was shot and murdered while visiting Egypt for business.
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IDF troops eliminated the gunman immediately after the shooting and recovered the stolen weapon