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Missile, fire from Egypt wounds 2 Israeli troops

Jerusalem - Attackers from the Egyptian side of the border fired an anti-tank missile and gunshots at an Israeli military vehicle on Wednesday, wounding two soldiers in a rare cross-border incident, the military said.

The military said the attack occurred in southern Negev Desert, and that the soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Israel.

The frontier between Israel and Egypt is normally quiet. The two countries signed a peace accord 35 years ago and have close security co-operation. But Islamic militants in Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula have attempted to carry out attacks against Israel in recent years. No one immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack.

In September 2012, an Israeli soldier was killed in a similar shooting. A year earlier, a series of coordinated attacks killed seven Israelis.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Sinai have also carried out deadly attacks against the Egyptian military, which has been trying to crack down on their activity in the desert.

The Israeli military said it has no indication yet who was behind the attack. It said that it dispatched troops to the area to make sure that no infiltration into its territory took place. In the meantime, it asked residents in the area to remain in their homes.

Israeli media said the two — a female officer and a male soldier — were moderately wounded.

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