IDF announces death of Capt. Alon Sacgiu in Jenin operation, 16 wounded

An IDF sniper officer was killed and 16 other soldiers wounded Thursday morning in a complex ambush staged by Palestinians in Jenin on one of the military’s daily raids aimed at arresting terrorists.

Captain Alon Sacgiu, 22, from Hadera, was a sniper team leader in the Haruv Reconnaissance Detachment of the Kfir Brigade.

During the incident in which Captain Alon Sacgiu was killed, a Panther armoured vehicle drove onto a road where one of many explosive devices was located underground.

The road has already been razed and “cleared” by an Israel Defense Forces D-9 bulldozer to ensure that hidden improvised explosive devices do not surprise soldiers.

The initial injuries to the soldiers in the Panther were much less, but the vehicle was damaged and another engineering vehicle along with other soldiers came to the aid of the initially attacked Panther unit.

However, unknown Palestinians in Jenin set off a second improvised explosive device – probably remotely – against the rescuers, killing Sacgui and injuring almost all of the soldiers.

IDF soldier near Jenin (source: IDF SPOKESMAN UNIT)

Wounded many times

Of the 16 wounded soldiers, one was seriously injured and five were moderately injured, including an officer and a paramedic.

Additionally, ten soldiers were slightly injured, including an officer and a reservist. All wounded soldiers were evacuated to hospitals, where they were given immediate medical assistance.

The IDF said the D-9 bomb missed the explosive charges because they were buried much deeper than usual.

Typically the devices are buried about 40-50 centimetres beneath the road.

These devices were probably placed at a depth of approximately 1.5 meters.

According to public data, the standard digging depth of the D-9 is less than 70 centimeters.

Sure, if the D-9 makes multiple passes through a given area, it can go much deeper, but that creates different operational dilemmas when operating in a hostile environment and trying to maintain the element of surprise and act quickly and decisively.

It is unclear how the IDF will attempt to tactically resolve this dilemma in the future if the Palestinians begin to use these tactics more widely following Palestinian media reports of their “success.”