BICOM

An Israeli patrol close to the Israel-Egypt border traded fire with an armed group trying to infiltrate from the Egyptian controlled Sinai Peninsula overnight, hitting one of the group. The IDF opened fire on the group when they did not respond to warnings, and the infiltrators responded with fire, according to the IDF.

The incident comes after Israeli military forces thwarted an attempt to plant an explosive charge on Israel’s border with the Sinai on Monday. An IDF officer who briefed the media said terror groups in the Sinai are using criminal smuggling networks to carry out the attacks. A large explosive device was discovered in the same region last week.

Over the past year, the security situation in the Sinai has sharply deteriorated. Following internal unrest, the Egyptian regime’s control in the area has loosened, allowing terror groups to take advantage of the strategic peninsula for smuggling, training and the execution of attacks on the Israeli border. Last August, a coordinated terror attack on Highway 12, which runs along the Israeli side of the border, ended in the death of eight Israelis. The highway was only recently opened after border security measures were enhanced. Pipelines in the Sinai which bring gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan have also been repeatedly targeted.