Jerusalem: Israel`s Defense Minister says Israel is sorry for the deaths of Egyptian troops killed during a shootout between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants.
Ehud Barak says he has ordered a military investigation and a joint inquiry with the Egyptian army to clarify the circumstances of Friday`s incident, when militants from Gaza crossed into southern Israel through the Egyptian desert and launched a deadly attack that killed eight Israeli.
At least three Egyptian troops were killed in a subsequent shootout between Israeli soldiers pursuing the militants along the Israeli-Egypt border. Egypt said on Saturday, it would recall its ambassador from Israel to protest the deaths.
Barak says that "Israel is sorry over the deaths of the Egyptian officers."
Bureau Report
