Egyptian border guard killed by drug smugglers on border
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An Egyptian border guard was shot to death late on Friday by drug smugglers on the Israeli border, a security official said.
The incident occurred 10 kilometers south of the Rafah border crossing, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media.
Initial investigations indicate that the guard, identified as Mohammed Abdel-Ghaffar, 21, of the Nile Delta province of Menoufia, confronted drug smugglers attempting to cross the border and then was killed in the ensuing fire fight.
His body was taken to the Mubarak Military Hospital in nearby El-Arish, the official added.
Smugglers are constantly moving across the long desert border between Egypt and Israel with weapons, drugs and people seeking jobs in the Jewish state.