Egyptian police kill African migrant along border with Israel

Egyptian police shot dead an unidentified African migrant on the border with Israel on Monday, as he tried to enter Israel illegally, a security official said.

A police patrol spotted the man near the border and opened fire on him when he tried to escape, ignoring an order to stop, a hospital source said.

The hospital source added that the man had been shot in the stomach, thigh and leg and was dead on arrival at El Arish hospital. The dead man carried no form of identification, the sources added.

His death brings to 27 the number of African migrants killed by Egyptian security on the border with Israel this year.

Israel Defense Forces soldiers earlier on Monday fired on suspected drug smugglers trying to cross from the Egyptian Sinai, killing one and wounding two who were then arrested, the army said.

The incident took place in the central part of the Israeli-Egyptian border. A military spokesman said soldiers shot at the infiltrators after they ignored orders to halt.

"Several bags of drugs were found on the suspects. It looks like a regular drug run that went bad," the spokesman said.

Smuggling and infiltrations by African migrants take place regularly along the porous desert border.

Israel's frontier garrison maintains a high level of alert in case Palestinian gunmen from the Gaza Strip slip through to carry out attacks.