Al-Qaeda and their allies Hamas have been battling Egyptian security forces for control of the Sinai. They have used the area to launch rocket attacks on Israel. In rare act of cooperation, the Egyptian military assisted the Israelis in targeting an Islamist rocket team with a drone strike.

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — An Israeli drone strike inside Egypt killed five suspected Islamic militants and destroyed a rocket launcher Friday, two senior Egyptian security officials said, marking a rare Israeli operation carried out in its Arab neighbor’s territory.

The strike, coming after a warning from Egypt caused Israel to briefly close an airport Thursday, potentially signals a significant new level of cooperation between the two former foes over security matters in the largely lawless Sinai Peninsula after a military coup ousted Egypt’s president. Egypt long has maintained that it wouldn’t allow other countries to use its territories as hotbed to launch attacks against other countries.

Residents heard a large explosion Friday in el-Agra, an area in the northern region of the Sinai close to Egypt’s border with Israel. The officials said the Israeli attack was in cooperation with Egyptian authorities.

As al-Qaeda and Hamas continue to destabilize the Sinai, this will not be the last time Egypt and Israel militarily cooperate.