Israel army shoots down rocket near Egypt border

For the first time Israels Iron Dome missile defence system successfully intercepted a rocket attack.

The Israeli military shot down a rocket launched toward a Red Sea resort town near the border with Egypt on Tuesday,the army said.

It was the first time Israels Iron Dome missile defence system successfully intercepted a rocket attack on the resort of Eilat,the military said. The incident came after days of heightened tension along the Egypt-Israel border.

The army said the rocket was intercepted early Tuesday and that there were no injuries. It didnt provide more details and declined to comment on the origins of the projectile.

Story continues below this ad

An al Qaeda-inspired militant group based in Egypts Sinai Peninsula,Ansar Jerusalem,claimed responsibility for launching the rocket in an email to The Associated Press. The little known group is hostile to both Israel and Egypt and was behind an attack in August 2011 near Eilat that killed eight people.

In Cairo,Egypts state MENA news agency quoted an unnamed security official as saying authorities could not confirm that the rocket was launched from Sinai. The report said Egyptian forces were investigating.

zLast Thursday,Israel briefly closed the Eilat airport in response to unspecified security warnings.

The following day,five suspected Islamic militants were killed in Egypts volatile Sinai Peninsula,and a rocket launcher there was reportedly destroyed,according to Egyptian officials. Ansar Jerusalem said four of its men were killed and blamed the deaths on Israel.

Story continues below this ad

Egyptian security officials attributed Fridays strike to a drone fired from the Israeli side of the border,but Israel has remained silent about the attack,likely out of concerns about exposing Egypts military to domestic criticism over an Israeli strike on its soil.

Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979,but many in Egypt still view Israel with suspicion.