Officer: Foiled Terror Attack Would Have Been Deadly

An initial inquiry into Tuesday's foiled terror attack found that the bomb intercepted on Israel's southern border was a cell phone-activated explosive belt, Ynet has learned.

The shrapnel scattered about after the IDF detonated the device indicated its lethalness.

According to the preliminary investigation, the belt was hidden in a bag that was thrown over the border from the Egyptian side into Israel. An elite force that was laying in ambush detected the terrorist, who escaped back into Sinai.

Large IDF forces were deployed to the scene, closed off the area and used robotic equipment to study the bomb from afar. It was then detonated in a controlled environment. When the troops studied the aftermath they discovered a cell phone meant for the bomb's remote activation.

Escalation at Egypt border

The IDF is looking into the possibility that the bomb originated in Gaza, and travelled to Israel through Rafah and Sinai.

In the months after the multiple terror attack near Eilat in August, activity around the Israel-Egypt border has altered considerably. Multiple terror warnings have caused the Egyptian troops to reposition their posts, and no night passes without the soldiers exchanging fire with drug and weapon smugglers and African refugees aiming to infiltrate the border. Several of the Egyptian troops have been injured and killed in the clashes.

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