JERUSALEM, Israel -- A joint Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police unit frightened off a terrorist carrying a large explosive device in his satchel, during a routine overnight patrol along a known smuggling route near the Egyptian border.

After troops identified the infiltrator, he abandoned his bomb-laden parcel near the security fence and fled, possibly planning to detonate it remotely against soldiers patrolling the border.

IDF sappers detonated the bomb in a controlled explosion.

"This incident is a reminder that the smuggling routes near the border are used by terror organizations to plan attacks against Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers," the IDF Spokesperson's Office said in a statement.

They praised the unit's "vigilance" in successfully thwarting a potentially deadly bombing.

Since last year's overthrow of the Mubarak government, the situation in the Sinai Peninsula has grown increasingly problematic, with terror groups taking advantage of routes used by drugs and arms smugglers.

A cross-border terror attack last August killed eight Israelis and injured 30 others.