Egypt Israel border attack leaves 'eight gunmen dead'

Israel says it has found the bodies of eight gunmen who attacked a checkpoint on its border with Egypt, killing 16 Egyptian policemen.

The attackers attacked a border post at Rafah, captured two Egyptian army vehicles and then tried to smash their way over the border, Israel said. One vehicle apparently blew up at the Kerem Shalom crossing, while the other was destroyed by the Israeli air force. Egypt has declared three days of mourning for the dead policemen. The Egyptian army vowed to avenge the deaths, in a statement carried by the official news agency Mena. Islamist militants have been blamed by both sides for carrying out the raid. The attack on the border post close to Gaza and Israel took place at about 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT) – when the sun was setting and the guards had stopped work for the traditional iftar meal, which breaks the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.