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| Israeli soldier and militants killed in border clash | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An Israeli soldier and three militants have been killed in a clash inside Israel near its southern border with Egypt, the Israeli military has said. | |
| A second soldier was moderately wounded in the incident, near Mount Arif, said army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich. | |
| Lt Col Leibovich said the militants had opened fire on the soldiers after crossing the border from Sinai. | |
| The troops were guarding a site where work is continuing on a new security barrier along the border with Egypt. | |
| The violence comes amid a crackdown by Egypt on Islamist militants operating in the Sinai Peninsula, launched after an attack last month left 16 Egyptian soldiers dead. | |
| In that incident, the militants crossed the border with Israel in an apparent attempt to carry out another attack. However, they were killed in Israeli air strikes. | |
| In June, militants fired an anti-tank missile at a vehicle convoy carrying construction workers helping to build the new border fence. One Israeli construction worker and two of the attackers were killed. | In June, militants fired an anti-tank missile at a vehicle convoy carrying construction workers helping to build the new border fence. One Israeli construction worker and two of the attackers were killed. |
| Explosive belts | Explosive belts |
| Lt Col Leibovich said the militants who crossed the border from the Sinai peninsula on Friday were heavily armed with rifles and equipped with bullet-proof vests and explosive belts. | |
| The attack happened about half-way down Israel's 240km (150-mile) southern border, at a point where work is under way to complete the new barrier. | |
| "[The militants] opened fire towards IDF troops that were guarding the workers in that area. Another force that was nearby... rushed to the area and targeted those three terrorists," Lt Col Leibovich told reporters. | "[The militants] opened fire towards IDF troops that were guarding the workers in that area. Another force that was nearby... rushed to the area and targeted those three terrorists," Lt Col Leibovich told reporters. |
| "A very big terror attack was thwarted by the quick response of these soldiers," she added. | "A very big terror attack was thwarted by the quick response of these soldiers," she added. |
| Egyptian security sources said one of the militants died when his explosive belt was detonated, while the other two were shot dead by the Israeli soldiers. The nationalities of the assailants were not immediately clear, they added. | Egyptian security sources said one of the militants died when his explosive belt was detonated, while the other two were shot dead by the Israeli soldiers. The nationalities of the assailants were not immediately clear, they added. |
| Defence officials said work on the border fence in the Mount Arif area was due to conclude in early November. | |
| Construction had been delayed because it was difficult in a remote, mountainous region, they added. |