Two rockets fired by jihadists from Sinai hit Israel

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/04/two-rockets-fired-by-jihadists-from-sinai-hit-israel

Version 0 of 1.

Two rockets, fired from Egypt’s violence-plagued Sinai peninsula, exploded inside Israeli territory on Friday without causing casualties, an Israeli military spokesman said.

“Two rockets fired from Sinai struck southern Israel, but without causing casualties or material damage,” the spokesman said, without elaborating.

The Islamic State jihadist group’s affiliate in Egypt, “Sinai Province”, said it had fired three Grad rockets at Israel.

It said this was in retaliation for alleged Israeli support for Egypt’s armed forces on Wednesday, when the jihadists attacked Egyptian army checkpoints in northern Sinai.

Egypt is reeling from a string of deadly attacks by Isis on its security forces in Sinai.

Jihadists led by Isis have killed scores of troops, challenging President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s efforts to restore security and economic stability.

On Wednesday, Egypt’s military deployed F-16 warplanes to bombard Isis fighters who battled troops in a north Sinai town, after launching a surprise dawn attack on army checkpoints.

Dozens were killed in what was Isis’s boldest attack yet in Sinai, with militants taking over rooftops and firing rockets at troops.

Incidents along the Israel-Egypt border are rare.

At the end of last year, two Israeli soldiers were wounded by gunshots and an anti-tank missile fired at their car from Sinai.

The most serious recent incident was in August 2011, when gunmen infiltrated southern Israel and staged a series of ambushes that killed eight Israelis.

Israel has a 240-kilometre (150 mile) border with Sinai, which is mainly populated by Bedouins who have troubled relations with the Cairo government.