Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian security officer were killed near the countries' border on Saturday, Israel and Egypt said, in an incident whose details remained unclear but which the countries said they were investigating jointly.

Israel said the Egyptian border guard crossed into Israel and killed the three soldiers before he was fatally shot by troops.

An Egyptian "policeman" killed three Israeli soldiers Saturday in a rare exchange of fire near the border between the two countries in which the assailant was also killed, official sources from both sides said.

Israel said the Egyptian border guard crossed into Israel and killed the three soldiers before he was fatally shot by troops. Egypt said he had been chasing drug smugglers when he entered Israel.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed Saturday in a terrorist incident along the Egyptian border, military officials announced.

Israel's military says a gunbattle involving an Egyptian police officer in southern Israel along the Egyptian border has left three soldiers dead. It was a rare instance of deadly violence along the frontier.

Three Israeli soldiers were shot dead at the border with Egypt on Saturday morning, the Israeli army said, adding that the assailant, an Egyptian police officer, had been “neutralized.” "Three IDF soldiers were killed today,