A Salafi jihadi group based in Sinai and affiliated with al Qaida claimed responsibility for the border attack which killed an IDF soldier on Friday, SITE Intelligence Group reported.
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem) termed the attack a "Disciplinary Invasion Against those who Dared Against the Beloved Prophet," the US-based monitoring agency said, citing a statement posted on Islamist websites.
"As the defence of the honour of the Messenger of Allah is one of our duties and responsibilities, your brothers ... carried their weapons and became determined to discipline the Jews for their heinous acts," the statement read.
The Israeli army said troops came under fire from terrorists who sneaked across the border with Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Friday, sparking a firefight which killed the three attackers.
An Israeli soldier, 20-year-old Netanel Yahalomi, was killed and a second wounded.
Israel has accused Gaza-based terrorists of using the Sinai as a launchpad for cross-border attacks and demanded that Egypt crack down on Islamist elements in the lawless peninsula.
Israeli army’s Chief of Staff Lt.Gen. Benny Gantz, who toured the site of Friday’s attack, warned that terrorism from Sinai would continue to pose a security threat even after the border fence is complete.
“The Sinai border will continue challenging us. We made a great effort in the past two years to close the border, and it is closed – but even when it is closed, the threat does not stop,” Gantz said.