Terror Squad Infiltrating Israel from Egypt Targeted by IAF

The terrorists who smashed into Israel at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday night managed to drive about a mile into Israel, and were traveling at 70 kilometers an hour along the road toward Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, before the Israeli Air Force was able to get a clear shot and blow up their armored vehicle without risk to civilian traffic on the road or nearby.

That was one of the findings of the IDF’s initial investigation into what officials said Monday was a very carefully planned and complex terror attack.

JPost has lots more details:

Back to the armored vehicle. After driving for about 100 meters on the highway, it encountered another force from the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion which again opened fire but failed to stop the vehicle’s advance. Driving at speeds of around 70 kph, the IDF feared that the vehicle was on its way to a nearby Israeli town and decided to send three tanks onto the highway, one from the north, one from behind and one from the west. At the same time and after the vehicle had crossed some 2 km, an Israeli aircraft was diverted to the scene and fired off a missile, finally causing the necessary damage to stop the vehicle’s advance. The bombing, approved by Russo, was not a simple decision and was unprecedented due to the fact that it took place inside Israeli territory.

After the vehicle stopped, two of the terrorists exited the vehicle and headed for cover in nearby fields, opening fire at a farming vehicle. In the meantime, the tank from behind fired two shells from a short distance, destroying the vehicle and killing at least five other terrorists still inside. Later, after a short gunfight, IDF soldiers killed the two terrorists outside.

Almost all of the terrorists were found to be wearing explosive bomb belts which has led the IDF to believe that the terrorists’ target was to either infiltrate an IDF base or a nearby town and to kill as many people as possible. The identities of the attackers are still unknown although a majority of them are believed to be Bedouin from the Sinai Peninsula.