The Zionist troops on Friday shot dead three gunmen who were claimed to sneak across the Egyptian border and ambushed troops.

The Zionist troops on Friday shot dead three gunmen who were claimed to sneak across the Egyptian border and ambushed troops. The military alleged it averted "a very big terror attack," a military spokeswoman said.

The incident took place on the Occupied Territories side of the frontier at a place called Har Harif which is almost half way down the Zionist 240-kilometer (150-mile) border with the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

Zionist army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich told reporters that the killed “opened fire toward IDF troops that were guarding the workers (building the fence) in that area,” adding that another force that was nearby rushed to the area and targeted them.

Border security incidents have increased over the past 18 months between Egypt and the Zionist entity of occupation.

The most serious incident so far took place in August 2011, when a militant group infiltrated southern occupied territories and staged a series of ambushes.

The Zionist entity is building a giant steel barrier along the frontier, which is due to be completed by the end of this year.