Egyptian, Israeli defence ministers discuss deadly border shootout

CAIRO: Egyptian Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohamed Zaki and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant discussed the deadly shootout that left three Israeli soldiers and one Egyptian policeman dead.

During a phone conversation, the two ministers also discussed joint coordination to take the necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future, the Egyptian Armed Forces said on Saturday in a statement.

Zaki extended condolences to the victims of the incident from both sides, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Saturday, three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed in a shootout along the border between the two countries.

The Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement that the assailant who killed the three soldiers was an Egyptian policeman.

The Egyptian Army said that three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed earlier on Saturday in a shootout during a pursuit of drug smugglers by the Egyptian security personnel near the border with Israel.

Such confrontations along the Israel-Egypt border are rare as the two countries have maintained close security ties under a peace agreement signed by the two sides in 1979.

The Israeli military frequently carry out search-and-arrest operations on the common border to prevent drug and weapons smuggling. In 2014, Israel completed the construction of a 242-km barrier along the shared border with Egypt, in an attempt to stop illegal immigration from African countries into Israel.