Posted on 11/18/2004 3:02:55 AM PST by newzjunkey
JERUSALEM, Nov. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- An Israeli tank mistakenly killed three Egyptian security officers near the border early Thursday, an incident that Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim termed as "regrettable and grave in its outcome."
The Israeli tank crew, operating near the Philadephi Route in the Rafah area bordering the Palestinian lands and Egypt, apparently thought the three to be Palestinians smuggling weapons.
The tank then fired a shell across the border before dawn and killed the three, a senior Israeli security source told the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.
"Three Egyptian troops were killed," the source said. "Our tank thought they were Palestinian weapons smugglers."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry will join senior defense officials in an immediate investigation into the incident.
The investigation is to examine a number of possible scenarios, including the possibility that the tank crew was firing at another target but missed, hitting the Egyptian soldiers instead.
Boim said that the area was very sensitive, with Israeli troops always on high alert for terrorist activities.
He said that the Egyptian army had also increased its operations in the area to prevent arms smuggle into the adjacent Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army issued a formal apology to the Egyptian army, and scheduled a two-hour break in all training later in the day to discuss ways to prevent similar incidents. Enditem
Whoops...
I hate it when tanks make mistakes.
Possible war crime, better get Negroponte right on this to "deal" with these men.
"Tanks for the memori--BOOM!"
Maybe the Egyptian soldiers were smuggling weapons. If Egypt did it's part to shut down the smuggling, the Israeli's wouldn't have to be on such high alert.
Damn. That tank must've had SUV genes.
Tunnel collapses along Israel-Egypt border
www.breakingnews.ie ^ | 18/11/2004 | SA
Posted on 11/18/2004 8:15:02 AM PST by Ginifer
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1282994/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.