An IDF sniper officer was killed and 16 other soldiers were wounded on Thursday morning in a complex ambush by Palestinians in Jenin against one of the military’s daily raids to arrest terrorists.
Capt. Alon Sacgiu, 22, from Hadera, was a sniper team commander in the Haruv Reconnaissance Unit in the Kfir Brigade.
During the incident in which Capt. Alon Sacgiu was killed, a Panther armored vehicle drove over a road where there was one of multiple planted explosive devices underground.
The road had already been bulldozed and “cleared” by an IDF D-9 bulldozer to ensure that such hidden improvised explosive devices could not ambush the soldiers.
The initial injuries to the soldiers within the Panther were much more limited, but the vehicle was damaged and another engineering vehicle and other soldiers came to assist the initially ambushed Panther unit.
However, unidentified Palestinians in Jenin activated a second improvised explosive device – possibly remotely - against the rescuers, killing Sacgui and causing the wounds of almost all of the soldiers.
Multiple wounded
Of the 16 wounded soldiers, one was severely wounded, and five were moderately wounded, including an officer and a paramedic.
Additionally, ten soldiers were lightly wounded, including an officer and a reservist. All wounded soldiers were evacuated to hospitals for immediate medical treatment.
The IDF said that the D-9 missed the explosive devices because they were buried at a much deeper depth than usual.
Usually, the devices are buried around 40-50 centimeters under a road.
These devices were probably placed around 1.5 meters deep.
According to public records, D-9s standard digging depth cuts off at less than 70 centimeters.
Of course, if a D-9 does multiple runs through a specific area, it can go much deeper, but this creates other operational dilemmas when operating in a hostile environment and trying to maintain an element of surprise and quick and decisive action.
It was unclear how the IDF will try to address this dilemma tactically going forward if Palestinians start to use the tactic on a broader basis after their “success” was reported in Palestinian media.