ISIL affiliate reportedly fires rockets from Egypt's Sinai into Israel

An armed group in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), fired rockets into southern Israel on Friday in an incident that caused no casualties but appeared to be linked to fighting between the group and Egyptian security forces.

The group, Sinai Province, said in a statement posted on Twitter by supporters that it had launched three Grad rockets toward "occupied Palestine." Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the statement.

An Israeli military source earlier said the rockets had been fired from Sinai, which borders Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal.

Israeli police said they had so far found remnants of two rockets in an open area. No damage or casualties were reported.

It was possible the launch was linked to fighting in the Sinai, the military source said, where Sinai Province fighters launched their biggest assault in years against Egyptian security forces on Wednesday.

Dozens of people have been killed in the past few days of clashes and air strikes in the desert region.

The Israeli military on Friday closed a southern highway, part of which runs along the Egyptian border, as a safety precaution.

Egyptian security sources earlier told Reuters they were investigating the reports and said there was no immediate evidence a rocket was launched from Egyptian territory.

Armed groups, including Sinai Province — known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis before pledging allegiance to ISIL — have fired rockets into Israel from Sinai on several occasions in the past.

Israel has accused Hamas, the Palestinians group that controls Gaza, of helping ISIL in Sinai, an allegation Hamas denies. An Egyptian security source said some Hamas members were involved in the Sinai battles, but that there were no wider organizational ties between the groups

Hamas, a group that seized power in Gaza in 2007, has faced its own threats from ISIL-linked groups.

On Tuesday, ISIL released a video threatening Hamas and vowing to turn Gaza into another "fiefdom," as in parts of Iraq and Syria.

It also said in the video that it will uproot "the state of the Jews" and secular Palestinian movement Fatah, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Reuters