Jerusalem, 17 Aug-(ANA)-Israeli soldiers patrolling the border with Egypt have shot an Egyptian security officer after mistaking him for an enemy infiltrator, the Israeli military said.
Egyptian security sources said a security officer was critically wounded in the chest by gunfire "that likely came from the Israeli side" of the border in North Sinai province.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers patrolling the unfenced border outside the city of Eilat saw a suspicious, armed person who had crossed into Israel.
The soldiers challenged the man, who then cocked his weapon, and they shot him, the spokeswoman said.
Egyptian officials said 21-year-old Central Security conscript, Abdel Salam Mohamed Abdel Salam, was taken to el-Arish general hospital and police were waiting for him to regain consciousness to ask him about the shooting.
Shooting incidents between Israeli and Egyptian forces along the border have been rare since a peace treaty in 1979.
Egyptian police have shot dead at least six African migrants trying to cross into Israel since May. (ANA)
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