2012 Egyptian-Israeli border attack

The August 2012 Sinai attack occurred on 5 August 2012, when armed men ambushed an Egyptian military base in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 16 soldiers and stealing two armored cars, which they used to infiltrate into Israel. The attackers broke through the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Israel, where one of the vehicles exploded. They then engaged in a firefight with soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), during which six of the attackers were killed. No Israelis were injured.

The attack led to sharp condemnations from Israeli and Egyptian authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences for the Egyptian soldiers killed, and praised IDF troops for their preparedness and handling of the attack. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that the incident should be a "wake up call" for Egypt in dealing with terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula, while Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to the Gaza Strip.

Background

Post-Egyptian revolution

Following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, militant organizations increased their activity in the Sinai Peninsula, and some al-Qaeda-linked groups were established as well. These militants have been frequently attacking and bombing gas pipelines in the Sinai running between Egypt and Israel. , there have been 15 bombings on these gas pipelines since the 2011 uprising.

In August 2011, a series of cross-border attacks were carried out in southern Israel on Highway 12 near the Egyptian border via the Sinai Peninsula. The terrorists opened fire on an Egged No. 392 bus near Eilat, and soon thereafter, a bomb was detonated next to an Israeli army patrol along the Egypt–Israel border. A third attack occurred when an anti-tank missile hit a private vehicle, killing four civilians. Eight Israelis – six civilians, one Yamam Special Unit police officer, and one Golani Brigade soldier – were killed during the multi-pronged attack. The Israeli security forces reported eight attackers killed, and Egyptian security forces reported killing another two.

In July 2012, IDF intelligence chief Aviv Kochavi told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the IDF has stopped approximately a dozen attacks against Israel from the Sinai Peninsula.

On 31 July 2012, the United States Department of State's Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism warned in a report, "The smuggling of humans, weapons, cash, and other contraband through the Sinai into Israel and Gaza created criminal networks with possible ties to terrorist groups in the region. The smuggling of weapons from Libya through Egypt has increased since the overthrow of the Qaddafi regime." '' Haaretz'' reported that forces from al-Qaeda, supported by the local Bedouin, have been stationed in the Sinai. It also reported that several other terrorist groups in Gaza have been assisting these forces, and were also smuggling weapons and goods into Gaza.

August 2012

In early August 2012, Israel's National Security Council's counter-terrorism bureau renewed its travel advisory against visiting the Sinai Peninsula, due to information on potential terrorist attacks against tourists, including kidnappings. The warning may have been due to Hamas' release of Abu Walid al-Maqdisi, a Salafi leader of an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, responsible for three bombings in Dahab in 2006, and which is believed to have close ties with terror cells operating in the Sinai Peninsula. The following day, the United States also issued a travel warning to Americans to "take precautions in travel to the Sinai" and warned that "overland travel from Israel to the Sinai in particular is strongly discouraged."

Over the weekend prior to the attack on the border, various intelligence reports reaching the IDF's Southern Command warned of an impending attack. Specific information regarding the time, target, and location of the attack could not be ascertained. Still, Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Tal Russo prepared his troops in case of an attack. Armored, Engineering, and Infantry soldiers were placed on high alert while the Israeli Air Force was deployed in the area as reinforcement. Russo evacuated troops from the Kerem Shalom border crossing, where the militants would later break through, in anticipation of them coming under attack.

Egyptian intelligence chief Morad Mowafi said that Egypt had also received comprehensive intelligence warnings before the attack took place. However, the Egyptian authorities never imagined that this type of attack would happen, in which "a Muslim would kill a Muslim on the hour of breaking the fast in Ramadan."

Attack

The attackers approached an Egyptian military base in the Sinai Peninsula in three Land Rovers at sundown, during the iftar meal, which breaks the day's fast during the Muslim month of Ramadan, and succeeded in taking control of the base while the soldiers were sitting down in the dining hall for the iftar meal. The attackers were dressed as Bedouins and attacked with guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Thirty-five attackers took part in this attack on the Egyptian base.

After firing on the police, the gunmen commandeered two Fahd wheeled armored personnel carriers and attempted to break through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint into Israel. A few minutes before the gunmen infiltrated across the border, IDF troops received an alert regarding a possible breach of the Egyptian–Israeli border. This followed intelligence informing the IDF that an Egyptian border patrol post had recently been surrounded. One of the APCs was driven into the checkpoint, where it exploded, apparently booby-trapped. The other vehicle crossed into Israel and drove for approximately 100 meters on the highway before encountering troops from the IDF Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion, which opened fire on the vehicle but failed to stop its advance. The IDF then sent three tanks onto the highway, but the vehicle accelerated away.

After driving about 2 km into Israel, and heading towards Kibbutz Kerem Shalom at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour (43.5 miles per hour), the APC was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force with a missile. This bombing was unprecedented, as it took place inside Israeli territory. Some of the gunmen managed to escape the wreckage and were then killed by Israeli troops after a short exchange of fire. Israeli soldiers had been previously warned of an impending attack and had recently increased patrols to the area. Arab Bedouin troops of the Israel Defense Forces were instrumental in reconnaissance and thwarting the attack.

The remaining attackers tried to escape to the Gaza Strip, but were prevented from doing so by Egyptian army forces.

Sixteen Egyptian police officers were killed in the raid, as well as an unspecified number of the attackers. Seven more police officers were wounded. The Israeli Army later reported it had found the bodies of five gunmen from the raid, while Egyptian authorities reported that they had the bodies of at least three gunmen. Following the attack, Israel transferred the bodies on its side of the border to the Egyptian authorities.

Reactions

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Israeli and Egyptian authorities believe that the perpetrators belonged to a global jihad network, and were assisted by Bedouin tribes in the Sinai in return for money.

''The New York Times'' and BBC
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