Israel Bombs Golan Border after Seeing 'Militants with Bomb', 4 Reportedly Killed
Israel's military said it launched an airstrike on its border with Syria on Sunday evening after spotting militants carrying a bomb.
A military statement said the army launched the strike after troops saw "a group of armed terrorists" approach the border with an explosive that could target Israeli troops.
Israel's Jerusalem Post newspaper meanwhile quoted a senior army source as saying that the Israeli air force “struck and killed four terrorists who crossed into Israel from Syria and planted explosives near an IDF post on Sunday night.”
The source declined to say which organization the cell belonged to, saying it was too soon for such details.
The Israeli newspaper said the incident occurred at 9:30 pm in the northern Golan Heights when Combat Intelligence Collection Units identified four suspects planting the explosives on the eastern side of the border fence, “within Israeli territory.”
“The suspects were placed under a top priority observation for several minutes, before action was taken,” it said.
The Israeli army confirmed that the militants were in fact planting bombs, before ordering an air strike, the source said.
"We could see them planting the explosives clearly," he added.
At least three militants were killed, he went on to say.
"The incident is fairly local, and is under control," the source said. "We are continuing to carry out routine security missions in the North. Our evaluation for the coming days has not changed," he added.
The Israeli army said in an official statement that it will not "tolerate any attempt to harm or violate Israeli sovereignty."
In January, an Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a military convoy in the Syrian town of Quneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, killing six senior Hizbullah operatives and six senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials.
Hizbullah retaliated days later by firing missiles at an Israeli convoy traveling in the occupied Shebaa Farms, killing two troops and wounding seven others.
On Saturday, media reports said an Israeli airstrike had targeted Hizbullah and Syrian military posts in the strategic Qalamoun region near Lebanon's border.
Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath TV channel reported that Israel targeted overnight a missile depot in the region.
According to the channel, the airstrike was preceded by an Israeli raid on Wednesday that targeted a convoy carrying arms belonging to Hizbullah, which killed one person.
Witnesses revealed that the Israeli airstrike targeted the bases of Syrian army brigades 155 and 65 in and a depot for Hizbullah's long-range missiles.
Hizbullah has been taking part in the fighting in Syria for over four years now, arguing that its participation is necessary to protect Lebanon from extremist groups.
Source: Associated Press, Naharnet
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