Al-Qaida group in Egypt hit by Israeli drone strike

An al-Qaida-linked group active in the Sinai Peninsula says its fighters were the target of a rare Israeli drone strike into Egyptian territory.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, in a statement posted on a militant website today, said that four of its members were killed in yesterday’s attack as they were preparing a cross-border rocket strike into Israel. It said the dead were from Egyptian Sinai tribes. The group said the rocket squad’s leader escaped.

Egyptian security officials said that a drone firing from the Israeli side of the border had killed five suspected militants. The conflicting death tolls could not be reconciled.

Israel maintained official silence about the strike.