Al-Quds city, Dec 1, SPA -- At least seven Ethiopian soldiers have defected to Eritrea during a training course in Israel, at a time of growing tension between the two Horn of Africa countries and fears of a new border war. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the soldiers went missing several days ago after a course run by a private company and then decided to go to Eritrea rather than Ethiopia, Reuters reported. Israeli media said the men had family in Eritrea and had requested political asylum from Eritrea's ambassador in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. They were then flown to the Red Sea State on a private plane. "In Israel we were surprised and we had nothing whatsoever to do with this whole episode," said spokesman Mark Regev. "Foreign nationals entered Israel legally and foreign nationals exited Israel legally." Neither Ethiopian nor Eritrean diplomats in Israel made any immediate comment. --SPA 1310 Local Time 1010 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/306960