IDF readying for terror attacks from Sinai

The IDF is preparing for the possibility of a large-scale terror attack from Sinai, especially through Eilat, Israel Radio reports, quoting the deputy commander of the Southern Border Brigade, Col. Arik Hen.

The military is preparing for scenarios including terror infiltration through the sea (near the southern Gaza Strip border), using booby-trapped vehicles to enter through land, suicide bombers, a combined rocket attack or even a concerted effort to carry out several of the above scenarios at once.

During a tour for military correspondents, Hen says the threat from Ansar Beit al Maqdis, a Sinai terror group that pledged allegiance to Islamic State, has significantly grown. Hen says there are estimates that several hundred terrorist from the group are active in the peninsula, but there is lack of intelligence about their activities.

He adds that there has been a marked increase in incidents of cross-border drug smuggling, often involving Israelis. Hen says smuggling attempts can easily devolve to security incidents and that during 2014 there were 28 incidents of shooting at IDF troops.