Explosion kills five militants in Sinai, Egypt denies it was an Israeli drone

Egyptian tank in El Arish, North Sinai. (Getty)

An explosion destroyed a rocket launcher set up near the border to launch attacks against Israel on Friday  and at least five Islamic militants were killed, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported. Residents of south Rafah at Egypt's border said they heard the sound of a loud explosion on Friaday afternoon, coming from the Ajraa area some three kilometers south of Rafah. Egyptian helicopters were seen flying over the area during and after the blast.
Egypt's military spokesman Ahmed Ali denied reports of an Israeli drone attack on Egyptian soil. He also denied reports of  Egyptian-Israeli coordination, requesting media to verify their  information before publishing.In a statement on his official Facebook page he said thet was still in the process of examining the area around the explosions and collecting evidence. Earlier reports by AP quoted two senior Egyptian officials stating that Israel fired a missile into the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing five suspected Islamic militants and destroying a rocket launcher. An  Israeli army spokeswoman declined to comment,  according to Reuters.
On Thursday, the Israeli military ordered the cancellation of all flights in and out of the Red Sea resort of Eilat for a brief period following a security assessment. Last month, Israel deployed a battery of its Iron Dome missile defence system near Eilat, which abuts the border with Egypt's troubled Sinai Peninsula, AFP reported.