Israel apologises after IDF kills three Egyptian policemen

The Israeli government has apologised after its troops killed three Egyptian policemen near the border at Rafah.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have apologised for the incident, claiming the Egyptians were wrongly identified as a terrorist cell attempting to slip into the Gaza Strip. Troops then fired on the "suspicious figures" believing the trio were intent on "planting explosive devices".

An initial investigation by the IDF put the killings down to "professional errors that occurred due to a misidentification of the three figures".

In a statement released today, the IDF expressed its sorrow and offered all necessary assistance.

However, the statement added: "It should be noted that this region is characterised by frequent terrorist attacks against IDF forces and Israeli communities nearby, as well as by infiltration attempts and weapons smuggling into Israel to and from Egypt."

The IDF stressed that the Egyptian policemen "were very close to the border on the other side of the fence" when its troops opened fire. It is not clear if any warning was issued before the order to fire was given.

Due to an intense period of terrorist activity along of the border at Rafah tensions in the area had been high prior to last night's killings. Since the beginning of October, terror groups had attempted to detonate 10 explosive devices near Rafah, and Palestinian gunmen had fired at IDF forces "on dozens of occasions", the Israeli army said.

A full investigation has been launched into the incident.

(gmcg/sp)