Israeli troops under fire from Jordan

Source: Xinhua | 01-13-2009 16:34

JERUSALEM, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli security patrol was attacked on Tuesday by fire from the Jordanian side of the Israel-Jordan border, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Border Guard unit returned fire in the incident near the Rabin Border Crossing with Jordan, some three km north of Israel's southernmost city of Eilat, said the IDF, adding that no casualty or damage was reported.

It is still unknown who launched the attack, and an IDF investigation is underway with Jordanian cooperation.

On Sunday, a group of IDF soldiers conducting engineering work near the Israel-Syria border fence came under cross-border fire from the Syrian side, causing no casualty.

Many believed that Palestinian militants in Syria staged the attack to protest the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip and to cause tensions on a second front.

On Thursday, militants in southern Lebanon fired several Katyusha rockets into northern Israel, injuring two people. While the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah movement denied any involvement, the incident was also believed to be an attempt by Palestinian militants to draw Israel into a new front.

The latest incident came on the 18th day of the IDF operation in Gaza, dubbed Cast Lead, which has killed over 900 people and injured over 4,100 others in the Hamas-ruled enclave. Thirteen have been killed on the Israeli side.

Editor:Zhang Yun