Israeli soldiers shoot dead drug smuggler near Egypt border, Israeli army says

Israeli soldiers on Wednesday shot dead a person who was trying to smuggle drugs into Israel from Egypt, the Israeli army said.

The soldiers were dispatched after spotting suspects in two separate locations on the border and then opened fire, the army said in a statement, without elaborating.

The border between Egypt and Israel stretches some 255 km (160 miles), making it difficult for security patrols to fully stop smugglers. Drug smuggling attempts along the Israel-Egypt border have become a nearly weekly occurence.