At Least 10 Syrian Soldiers Killed in Israeli Raids

At least 10 Syrian soldiers were killed in Israeli overnight air raids on positions near the Israeli-held Golan Heights, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Monday.

"At least 10 Syrian soldiers were killed in Israeli raids against military positions next to the occupied part of the Golan. Nine missiles were fired by aircraft and at least two tanks and two artillery batteries were destroyed," the Observatory said.

The Arab Israeli teenage son of a defense ministry contractor was killed on the Golan on Sunday when a blast hit the car he was traveling in with his father.

The Britain-based monitor said that the main target of the Israeli warplanes was the headquarters of Brigade 90, a unit deployed on the Golan, but other positions were also targeted.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

The Israeli military said on Monday that its aircraft had hit nine Syrian army positions on the Golan.

"The IDF (army) targeted nine Syrian army positions in response to the earlier attack that originated in Syria killing an Israeli teenager and injuring two other Israeli civilians," an army spokesman said.

The sites targeted in the air strikes included Syrian military headquarters and launching positions, Israeli's military said, noting that direct hits were confirmed.

Since the beginning of the March 2011 uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad, his forces have engaged in intense combat with rebels in the Golan area.