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Soldiers come under attack during ambush raid, exchange small arms fire with Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, military says
BY JUDAH ARI GROSS November 27, 2016, 9:30 am
Smoke rising from the Syrian village of Jubata al-Khashab, where Israeli aircraft struck Syrian army positions after fire from its war-torn neighbor hit the Golan, September 10, 2016. (AFP/Jalaa Marey)
Judah Ari GrossJudah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's military correspondent.
An Israeli airstrike killed four members of an Islamic State-affiliated terrorist group in southern Syria on Sunday morning, following a clash near the border, the army said.
No Israeli soldiers were injured in the exchange, the army added.
Soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit had crossed the security fence with Syria to conduct an “ambush operation,” while remaining inside Israeli territory, when they came under attack from small arms fire, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said.
They returned fire, but soon came under attack from mortar shells.
In response, the Israel Air Force targeted a truck “that had some sort of machine gun on top of it” and killed the four terrorists who were riding in it.
“It was a short exchange, but it was productive,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m., east of the Avnei Eitan community in the southern Golan Heights, the army said.
According to the IDF, the four men were members of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, formerly known as the Yarmouk Martyrs’ Brigade, a terrorist group in Syria that is connected with the Islamic State.
“The army will not tolerate any impairment to its sovereignty and will respond severely to any attempt to damage it,” the army said in a statement.
The army would not go into details about the Golani reconnaissance unit’s ambush, saying only that it was “planned by operational intelligence.”
The incident was the first major confrontation between Israeli forces and Islamic State affiliated terrorists in the Golan, though Israel has clashed with other fighters on the Syrian side of the border several times.
The Syrian Golan has been the site of intense fighting in recent years between Assad regime forces and the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, though the front on the border with Israel has quieted in recent months after seeing intense bouts of violence.
Israeli officials fear Hezbollah and Iran’s al-Quds Force are aiming at using the area to open a new front against Israel in any future conflict.
Since March 2011, when the war broke out, dozens of mortars have landed in Israeli territory as a result of spillover fighting. The IDF often responds to fire that crosses into Israel by striking Syrian army posts.
Israel maintains a policy of holding Damascus responsible for all fire from Syria into Israel regardless of the source.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-investigating-reports-of-shots-mortars-on-golan-heights/
@500 @Natan @Archdemon @GBU-28 @F-15I @mike2000 is back @Blue Marlin @Mountain Jew
@Beny Karachun @Archdemon @Solomon2
BY JUDAH ARI GROSS November 27, 2016, 9:30 am
Smoke rising from the Syrian village of Jubata al-Khashab, where Israeli aircraft struck Syrian army positions after fire from its war-torn neighbor hit the Golan, September 10, 2016. (AFP/Jalaa Marey)
Judah Ari GrossJudah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's military correspondent.
An Israeli airstrike killed four members of an Islamic State-affiliated terrorist group in southern Syria on Sunday morning, following a clash near the border, the army said.
No Israeli soldiers were injured in the exchange, the army added.
Soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit had crossed the security fence with Syria to conduct an “ambush operation,” while remaining inside Israeli territory, when they came under attack from small arms fire, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said.
They returned fire, but soon came under attack from mortar shells.
In response, the Israel Air Force targeted a truck “that had some sort of machine gun on top of it” and killed the four terrorists who were riding in it.
“It was a short exchange, but it was productive,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m., east of the Avnei Eitan community in the southern Golan Heights, the army said.
According to the IDF, the four men were members of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, formerly known as the Yarmouk Martyrs’ Brigade, a terrorist group in Syria that is connected with the Islamic State.
“The army will not tolerate any impairment to its sovereignty and will respond severely to any attempt to damage it,” the army said in a statement.
The army would not go into details about the Golani reconnaissance unit’s ambush, saying only that it was “planned by operational intelligence.”
The incident was the first major confrontation between Israeli forces and Islamic State affiliated terrorists in the Golan, though Israel has clashed with other fighters on the Syrian side of the border several times.
The Syrian Golan has been the site of intense fighting in recent years between Assad regime forces and the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, though the front on the border with Israel has quieted in recent months after seeing intense bouts of violence.
Israeli officials fear Hezbollah and Iran’s al-Quds Force are aiming at using the area to open a new front against Israel in any future conflict.
Since March 2011, when the war broke out, dozens of mortars have landed in Israeli territory as a result of spillover fighting. The IDF often responds to fire that crosses into Israel by striking Syrian army posts.
Israel maintains a policy of holding Damascus responsible for all fire from Syria into Israel regardless of the source.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-investigating-reports-of-shots-mortars-on-golan-heights/
@500 @Natan @Archdemon @GBU-28 @F-15I @mike2000 is back @Blue Marlin @Mountain Jew
@Beny Karachun @Archdemon @Solomon2
