In ongoing breaking reports, the IDF website is saying that more than a dozen people have been injured in a multi-front terror attack on Thursday, while the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that five people were killed in the violence. An initial update from the Twitter account for IDF spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said that an exchange of fire had broken out between Israeli security forces and terrorists in Israel. The IDF Spokesperson’s Twitter feed reported the multi-stage attack came from Gaza.
The IDF website reported that earlier terrorists fired at a bus travelling to the southern coastal city of Eilat along the Israel-Egyptian border, one of several security incidents on the day. Other reported attacks included the launching of an anti-tank missile at a vehicle carrying civilians and an explosive device attack on an IDF patrol. The IDF Spokesperson’s Blog reported that mortar shells have been fired at southern Israel.
Civilians and soldiers are among the injured, with the IDF Spokesperson’s Twitter feed reporting that at least one person is severely injured and five moderately injured.
The IDF website report quoted IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai as calling the attacks part of a “grave and complex event.”
Be sure to watch for updated news later in the day.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, August 18, 2011)