September 2012 southern Israel cross-border attack
| September 2012 southern Israel cross-border attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Sinai insurgency | |
  The attack site
An outline of Southern Israel and the Negev
|
|
| Location | Southern Israel near Mount Harif |
| Coordinates | 30°29′40″N 34°33′27″E / 30.49444°N 34.55750°ECoordinates: 30°29′40″N 34°33′27″E / 30.49444°N 34.55750°E |
| Date | 21 September 2012 |
|
Attack type
|
Spree shooting |
| Weapons | RPG launchers, two explosive belts, grenades and AK-47 rifles |
| Deaths | 1 Israeli soldier, 3 Ansar Bait al-Maqdis militants |
|
Non-fatal injuries
|
1 Israeli soldier |
| Perpetrators | Militants from Ansar Bait al-Maqdis |
| Motive | Response to the film Innocence of Muslims and to "discipline the Jews for their heinous acts." |
September 2012 southern Israel cross-border attack refers to an incident on 21 September 2012, when three Egyptian militants, who were dressed in civilian clothes, armed with two explosive belts, and carrying AK-47 rifles and RPG launchers, approached the Egypt-Israel border at an area where the Israel-Egypt barrier remained incomplete, and opened fire on a group of IDF soldiers securing the civilian workers who were constructing the border fence.
The militants began their attack when they opened fire at a small group of IDF soldiers, shooting at them from a distance of approximately one hundred meters, as they were giving water to a group of 10 illegal immigrants from Africa who were crossing the border into Israel as well. During the incident, which was thwarted at a relatively early stage by IDF forces at the site, one Israeli soldier was killed by the militants and another was moderately injured. Both of the soldiers were graduates of Hesder yeshivas. The three militants were killed in the ensuing gunfight, and one of them was killed by a female combat soldier from the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion.
The jihadist militant group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, an al-Qaeda-inspired militant organization based in the Sinai Peninsula, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The border attack was the fourth cross-border incident of its kind to be carried out in a period of approximately one year, despite Egypt's attempt to eradicate militant activity in the Sinai Peninsula.
Following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, various militancy organizations increased their activity in the Sinai Peninsula, as well as some al-Qaeda-linked cells who were established as a result in the Sinai Peninsula. These militancy cells have repeatedly attacked and bombed gas pipelines in the Sinai running between Egypt and Israel. As of July 2012[update], 15 such attacks were perpetrated on these gas pipelines since the 2011 uprising.
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Wikipedia