ISIS claims responsibility for Hadera terror attack, victims identified

Deadly shooting attack marks second terror attack in less than a week perpetrated by Arab-Israeli with ties to Islamic State.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

For the second time in less than a week, a deadly terror attack in Israel was perpetrated by Arab citizens of Israelis with ties to the Islamic State (ISIS).

On Sunday night, two cousins from the northern Arab city of Umm Al-Fahm, identified as Ibrahim and Ayman Aghbaria, opened fire on civilians at a bus stop in the coastal city of Hadera.

Two Israeli citizens were killed, along with the terrorists, and an additional 12 were injured.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing a statement that called the perpetrators “commandos.”

Later, Public Security Minister Omer Barlev confirmed that both men were known to by Israeli intelligence services to be affiliated with ISIS.

In the wake of the attack, the Shin Bet security agency arrested five men from Umm Al-Fahm, including the brother of one of the terrorists, who are believed to have ISIS links or previous knowledge of the plan.

According to Ynet, another brother of one of the terrorists, who was not arrested in the wake of the attack, is a well-respected police officer who serves the Sharon central region of Israel.

Sources told Ynet that the man “is an excellent police officer” and is “in shock” over his brother’s actions.

The two Israelis killed in the attack were identified as Corporal Yazan Falah, 19, from the Druze town of Kasra-Samia in northern Israel, and Corporal Shirel Aboukrat, 19, from Netanya. Abu Karat was born in France and her family immigrated to Israel in 2006.

Both victims were off-duty Border Police officers who rushed to the scene after hearing gunfire.

Border Police Commander Amir Cohen praised the slain officers in a statement, saying that they had “fought heroically” and that the “late heroes Yazan and Shirel defended civilians with their bodies and therefore saved many lives.”

Cohen said the pair were “highly motivated warriors, who sacrificed their lives for the security of the citizens of Israel.”

The Hadera attack comes less than a week after a deadly stabbing spree in Beersheba, perpetrated by a Bedouin citizen of Israel who had served time in prison for attempting to fly to Syria to join ISIS.

Four people were killed in the attack, and the terrorist was shot dead.