Israel hits Syrian army canon after errant mortars on Golan

Israel struck a position belonging to Syrian army after stray mortars from Syria's civil war hit the Israeli-held Golan Heights on Saturday night, Israel's army said.


A military statement said that the strike targeted a canon of the Syrian army. The action was a response to two errant mortars, which hit earlier an open area in the northern Golan Heights near the security fence, causing no injuries, according to the statement.

The army believes that the fire was a result of the heavy fighting between the Syrian army and terrorists in Quneitera, near the disputed Syrian-Israeli border.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said Saturday that Israel maintains a policy of non-involvement in the Syrian civil war, but "will not tolerate any breach of Israel's sovereignty."

He warned that "Israel holds the Syrian regime responsible for any breach of its borders and will act accordingly."

• The incident was the sixth time that a spillover from war-torn Syria hit northern Israel, without causing damage or injuries. 

Israel usually responded these incidents with strikes against President Bashar Assad's army positions.

Israel had repeatedly declared it would not intervene in the internal fighting in Syria.

However, it is widely believed that Israel often carried out airstrikes on weapons convoys in Syria, and has been providing medical treatment to hundreds of wounded Syrians [terrorists] who reached the border.
  [Xinhua/globaltimes.cn]
2/7/17
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