EL-ARISH, Egypt
(AP) -- An Israeli drone strike inside Egypt killed five suspected
Islamic militants and destroyed a rocket launcher Friday, two senior
Egyptian security officials said, marking a rare Israeli operation
carried out in its Arab neighbor's territory.
The
strike, coming after a warning from Egypt caused Israel to briefly
close an airport Thursday, potentially signals a significant new level
of cooperation between the two former foes over security matters in the
largely lawless Sinai Peninsula after a military coup ousted Egypt's
president. Egypt long has maintained that it wouldn't allow other
countries to use its territories as hotbed to launch attacks against
other countries.
Residents heard a large
explosion Friday in el-Agra, an area in the northern region of the Sinai
close to Egypt's border with Israel. The officials said the Israeli
attack was in cooperation with Egyptian authorities.
The
two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press
because they were not authorized to speak to journalists. The Israeli
military said it was looking into the report after being contacted by
the AP.
A statement later posted on the
official Facebook page of Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, an Egyptian military
spokesman, said there had been two explosions in el-Agra, south of
Rafah, and that security forces were investigating. Egypt's official
MENA news agency said an explosion destroyed a rocket launcher set near
the border to launch attacks against Israel. The agency said at least
five jihadis were killed.
The Egyptian officials told AP that the drone had been flying over the site of the attack since early Friday morning.
Egypt's
military and security forces are engaged in long battle against Islamic
jihadis in the largely lawless peninsula. Islamic militants also have
been stepping up attacks against security forces on the peninsula,
raising fears that extremists could exploit the anger over the July 3
ouster of President Mohammed Morsi to spread their insurgency.
The
drone strike comes after Israel briefly prevented landings at an
airport in the Red Sea resort of Eilat on Thursday. While Israeli
officials would only say the closure came out of unspecified security
concerns, an Egyptian security official told the AP that officials
warned Israel about the possibility of rocket strikes. The official said
Egyptian authorities received intelligence suggesting terrorist groups
planned to fire missiles Friday at Israel, as well as at locations in
northern Sinai and the Suez Canal.
That
official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to
speak with journalists. He also said that Egyptian authorities planned
to start air patrols Thursday night over the Naqab desert in the
Egyptian Sinai, where officials believe the militants are based.
While
Egypt signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979, the country has long
been suspicious of the Jewish state's intentions while annually
celebrating its own military exploits against Israel in the Sinai.
Allowing an Israeli drone strike inside its own territory represents
military cooperation otherwise never seen before.
---
Associated Press writer Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report.
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