JERUSALEM: Three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egypt’s security forces were killed on Saturday in a rare exchange of fire near the border between the two countries, official sources from both sides said.

The Israeli army said an Egyptian assailant shot dead two soldiers “in the early morning... while they secured a military post at the Egyptian border” on Mount Harif, triggering a manhunt in which a third soldier was killed.

An army statement identified the assailant as an Egyptian policeman, saying he was killed by Israeli troops after having been found “in Israeli territory”.

“An investigation is conducted in full cooperation with the Egyptian army,” the statement added.

A fourth soldier, a non-commissioned officer, was lightly wounded and evacuated to hospital, the Israeli army added.

An Egyptian army spokesman said “a member of the security forces... chased drug smugglers. During the chase, the security agent crossed the security fence (border)” and a fire exchange ensued.

Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel following the Camp David accords of 1978, though relations were not fully normalised.

Their shared border is largely peaceful despite occasional exchanges of fire between drug smugglers and troops.

The Israel army had initially declined to confirm media reports of the first two deaths, while families were notified. The two soldiers, a man and a woman, were “killed by live fire adjacent to the border”, it said in a statement. The army later identified her as Lia Ben Nun, 19.