Soldier killed in accidental grenade blast named as 18-year-old Denis Zinoviev

The soldier killed in a grenade blast at the Kfir Brigade training base in the Jordan Valley last night is named as 18-year-old Denis Zinoviev, the Israel Defense Forces says.

Zinoviev, a new recruit from the central city of Petah Tikvah, was posthumously promoted to the rank of corporal.

During the incident last night, three other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously.

According to an initial probe, one soldier brought a grenade he found during a training exercise back to the base and kept it in his bag — in an apparent violation of IDF protocol — where it later exploded.

The IDF says it will temporarily halt training exercises to search for more unexploded ordnance near training bases.

The chief of the IDF Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, also orders the establishment of a panel of experts, headed by Col. Hanoch Dauba, to investigate the circumstances of the deadly incident.