7 dead in terror attacks; IDF still looking for terrorists
LAST UPDATED: 08/18/2011 17:18
At least 25 injured in triple terrorist attacks near Eilat; special police forces, IDF soldiers kill 7 terrorists; series of bombs go off near IDF patrol along border with Egypt, gunmen fire on bus, private car.
Security personnel next to bus after ambush, Thurs Photo: REUTERS/Lior Grundman
Seven people were reported dead and at least 25 injured in
a three-stage terrorist attack along Israel’s border with Egypt on
Thursday.
IDF forces were still searching the area around Eilat
and the Egyptian border out of concern that there may be terrorists
still in the area. Sources said that it is possible that there were as
many 20 terrorist in the area, both in Israel and on the Egyptian side
of the border.
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Click here for a timeline of the attack
Egypt security sources: Bus ambush unlikely to have
come from here
Barak: IDF will hunt down perpetrators of Eilat
attack
They added that there may be another
terrorist cell hiding in the area. IDF and special police
counter-terrorist forces killed seven terrorists during the three
coordinated attacks.
The terror attack began at noon Thursday when terrorists opened fire at an Egged bus
traveling on Road 12 near Eilat.
Several minutes later, a number of bombs went
off next to an IDF patrol traveling along the border with Egypt. There
were also reports of mortar fire from Egypt into Israel. The terrorists
apparently then moved on to another spot and fired an anti-tank missile
at another vehicle, injuring a number of passengers.
Magen David
Adom said that terrorists attacked a bus and a private vehicle 20
kilometers north of the site of the first incident. Paramedics said five
people there were mortally wounded in that attack.
The casualties were
evacuated to Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat. A number of soldiers were among
the casualties
IDF soldier target, hit 7 terrorists involved in attacks
IDF soldiers targeted and hit seven terrorists involved in the attacks, according to IDF spokeswoman Avital Leibovich.
“This seems
like a coordinated attack,” a senior IDF officer said. There was also
speculation that there may have been more than one terror cell
coordinating the attacks.
Commander of the IDF’s Edom Division
Brig.-Gen. Tamir Yidayi arrived at the scene of the bus attack and set
up a command post to coordinate efforts to capture the perpetrators. The
IDF suspects that the terrorists infiltrated into Israel after crossing
into Egypt possible from the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, the Egyptian Military launched a massive operation to capture terrorist cells operating in the Sinai.
Due
to concern that terrorists had infiltrated into Israel from Egypt,
security officers in Israeli communities along the border were ordered
to raise the level of alert and to tell residents to remain inside their
home.
Defense Ministry wants faster border fence construction
Israel has so far managed to construct a barrier along 45 kilometers of
it's southern border with Egypt, which stretches for over 200 km.
The original plan was to complete construction of the fence in 2013 but
the Defense Ministry decided several months ago to hire six different
contracts in order to speed up the construction and complete the project
by the end of 2012.
The Defense Ministry said it would complete construction of an
additional 100 km by the end of 2011. Officials said that 700 meters of
fence was constructed on a daily basis.
Following the attacks near Eilat on Thursday, Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen.
Udi Shani convened a meeting to discuss ways to increase the number of
workers who work on the fence in an effort to move up the completion
date.
Authorities set up an emergency telephone number for those affected by the attacks near Eilat: 1255175.
Yaakov Lappin and JPost.com staff contributed to this report