Egypt: 'Impossible' that rockets were fired from Sinai
LAST UPDATED: 08/02/2010 12:26
Five rockets fell near Eilat, reportedly killing 1, injuring 3 in Jordan; suspected to have been launched from Sinai; IDF scouring area to determine source of attacks.
The southern city of Eilat. Photo: Associated Press
Egyptian officials
Monday denied that the five rockets which fell near
Eilat during the morning were fired from Sinai, a statement that ran
counter to initial Israeli reports on the attack.
"No rockets were launched from the Sinai," said Egyptian sources. "To
launch rockets from Egypt, it takes equipment and complicated logistical
preparations. It is impossible, since the Sinai Peninsula has heavy
security."
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Jordan: We
were target of rocket attack
'Katyusha
probably fired from Sinai'
The rockets
landed in the area
around Eilat Monday morning, one of which killed one person and injured three more in nearby
Jordan,
in front of the Intercontinental Hotel, according to an AFP report. One of the casualties was in
serious condition, the other three were lightly wounded.
A
second rocket also landed on the Jordanian side of the border, a third
north of Eilat's hotel area, and two more in the Red
Sea. The projectiles were Grad-type Katyushas, suspected to have
been launched from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
According to an
IDF statement,
soldiers were scouring the area to determine the source of the attacks,
which was unclear. The IDF was in contact with the Jordanian and
Egyptian armies regarding the incident.
Rocket
attacks in
Eilat are rare but not
unheard of, with two attacks having occurred in the last five years.
In April, two
rockets fired landed in Eilat and the adjacent
Jordanian port of Aqaba.
In 2005 a rocket fired from Jordan landed next to the Eilat airport and
two others missed a US
Navy vessel docked at the nearby Jordanian port
of Aqaba. No one was reported hurt. A group linked with al- Qaida
claimed
responsibility for the attack.
In January 2007, a deadly attack
by a Palestinian suicide bomber in Eilat killed three men working at a
bakery. Both Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Martyrs claimed responsibility
for the attack.