BBC report below, followed by additional information and disturbing photo by Jerusalem Post:

Israeli troops deployed along the border with Egypt are on alert

A group affiliated with Islamic State has said it fired three rockets into Israel from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.

The affiliate, which calls itself Sinai Province, said it had acted in retaliation for what it says is Israeli support for the Egyptian army.

Israel said two rockets landed in the south of the country, causing no casualties or material damage.

At least 17 Egyptian soldiers and 100 IS militants have died in fighting in northern Sinai since Wednesday.

The clashes were triggered by a co-ordinated mass assault of IS militants on the town of Sheikh Zuweid.

Siren alert

Sinai Province claimed the rocket attack on social media on Friday.

The group said it had fired Grad rockets towards “occupied Palestine”.

The Israeli military later said that two missiles landed in open areas in Israel’s Negev region, causing no damage.

Sirens were heard in communities in Israel’s Eshkol regional council, near the Gaza border.

“I trust the army and am certain that it will take all necessary measures to protect communities in the South,” council leader Eshkol Gadi Yarkoni was quoted as saying the Haaretz newspaper.

Israel accuses Hamas, who run Gaza, of providing support for Sinai Province – a claim the Palestinian group denies.

Israel has a 240km (150 miles) border with the Sinai peninsula.

‘Under control’

On Wednesday morning, militants launched near-simultaneous against at least five military checkpoints and a police station in and around Sheikh Zuweid.

The attack was one of the largest co-ordinated assaults so far by the jihadists in Sinai.

Eyewitness reported seeing militants roaming the streets of the northern town, clashing with armed forces.

An Egyptian military spokesman, Brig-Gen Mohammed Samir, later told state TV that the situation was “100% under control”.

Jihadists based in the restive region stepped up their attacks after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

At least 600 police and armed forces personnel have since been killed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33391871

And Jerusalem Post article:

CAIRO – Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate, Sinai Province, said on Friday in a statement posted on Twitter by supporters that it had launched three Grad rockets towards “occupied Palestine.”

Israeli police said earlier they had found rocket remnants in an open area. No damage or casualties resulted.

An IDF source said the missile was launched from the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel and Gaza. In statement made earlier Friday, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu also asserted that the day’s rocket attack had emanated from the Sinai region.

The projectile attack caused ‘code red’ sirens to sound in communities in Israel’s southern Eshkol Regional Council.

On Wednesday, members of the Sinai Province group launched their biggest assault in years against Egyptian security forces. Dozens of people have been killed in the past few days of clashes.

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

Militants have in the past fired rockets from Sinai into Israel.

Israel has accused Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza, of helping Islamic State in Sinai, an allegation Hamas, denies.

Jpost.com Staff contributed to this report.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-in-Egypt-claims-responsibility-for-rocket-launching-toward-Israel-407939

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