Israeli army says it's shot down rocket near Red Sea resort town, close to Egyptian border

August 13, 2013 at 6:40AM

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has shot down a rocket launched toward the Red Sea resort town of Eilat, near the border with Egypt.

The army says the rocket was intercepted early Tuesday and that there were no injuries. It didn't provide more details and declined to comment on the origins of the projectile.

The incident comes after days of heightened tension along the Egypt-Israel border. Last Thursday, Israel briefly closed the Eilat airport in response to unspecified security warnings.

The following day, five suspected Islamic militants were killed in Egypt's volatile Sinai Peninsula, and a rocket launcher there was reportedly destroyed.

Egyptian security officials have attributed Friday's strike to a drone fired from the Israeli side of the border, but Israel has remained silent about the attack.

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