3 Israeli soldiers were killed along the Egyptian border, military says

An Israeli soldier cries outside a military base following a deadly shootout in southern Israel along the Egyptian border on Saturday.

Tsafrir Abayov/AP

JERUSALEM — A gunbattle involving an Egyptian police officer in southern Israel along the Egyptian border left three Israeli soldiers dead Saturday, the army said. It was a rare instance of deadly violence along the frontier.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesperson, said the fighting began overnight when soldiers thwarted a drug-smuggling attempt across the border.

He said several hours later, two soldiers in a guard post were shot and killed. Their bodies were found after the shooting, when they did not respond to radio communications.

Hecht said the killings appeared to be connected to the thwarted drug smuggling attempt. The army said the Egyptian police officer was killed in a second exchange of fire in which a third soldier was killed.

Hecht said an investigation was being conducted in full cooperation with the Egyptian army. He said troops were searching for other possible assailants.

It was the first deadly exchange of fire along the Israel-Egypt border in over a decade.

The army said one of the killed soldiers was a woman.

Criminals sometimes smuggle drugs across the border, while Islamic militant groups are also active in Egypt’s restive north Sinai.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement in 1979 and maintain close security ties. Fighting along their shared border is rare.

The exchange of fire reportedly took place around the Nitzana border crossing between Israel…