IDF downs drone carrying rifles, ammo from Sinai

The Israel Defense Forces’ Paran Brigade, responsible for securing the frontier with Egypt, intercepted a drone smuggling M-16 rifles and ammunition across the border, the military said on Monday.

“Overnight, IDF surveillance units and the Aerial Control Array [of the Israeli Air Force] identified a drone that crossed into Israeli territory from the west in an attempt to smuggle weapons,” the army stated.

“Soldiers from the Paran Brigade intercepted the UAV, which was carrying three M-16 rifles and magazines,” the statement added.

The weapons and ammunition were then transferred to the Jewish state’s security agencies for further investigation, it said.

Last week, the military similarly shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying 20 M-16 rifles from Egypt into Israel. The drone was also carrying additional gun barrels and stocks, it stated.

In October alone, troops of the IDF’s 80th “Edom” Division, which includes the Paran Brigade, foiled 130 drone-assisted smuggling attempts along the Egyptian border, according to IDF data published on Nov. 17. Some 85 weapons were confiscated, including two machine guns, 16 long-barreled rifles and 66 pistols.

A designated operations center was scheduled to open to improve and coordinate the flow of information between intelligence units and soldiers in the field, the IDF said at the time.