Israeli soldiers shoot Egyptian policeman

JERUSALEM — The Israeli army says its soldiers mistakenly shot and wounded an Egyptian policeman along the border between the two countries.

The army says a routine patrol on Monday morning identified a suspicious, armed figure at the border.

It says that when the Israeli troops challenged the man, he cocked his weapon — prompting the soldiers to open fire.

The army says the soldiers only realized it was an Egyptian policeman after the shooting. A joint Israeli-Egyptian team is investigating the shooting.

There was no immediate comment from Egyptian officials.

The incident occurred south of the volatile Gaza Strip in a border region that has been largely peaceful since Israel and Egypt signed a peace deal in 1979.