Smugglers shoot Egyptian policeman at Israel border

Egyptian smugglers trying to take drugs across the border into Israel shot and wounded an Egyptian police officer on Monday in a shoot-out, security sources said.

The Egyptian sources identified the wounded officer as Shafi Nageh Shafi, 20, and said he was hit by a bullet in his shoulder. He was in a stable condition in hospital.

The sources said at least four smugglers fled from the border area deeper into Egypt after the gunfight and abandoned small quantities of drugs.

Smuggling, of both goods and people, is common along the Egypt-Israel desert border, but it is rare for police to be wounded in confrontations. Police shot dead at least 28 African migrants at the border last year.

 

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