IDF fires into Syria after patrol shot at in Golan

Gunfire, artillery shells come across Syrian border near soldiers patrolling in Golan; IDF fires missiles at source.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
IDF tanks along the Syrian border on Golan Heights 370 (R) (photo credit: IDF Spokesman Unit)
IDF tanks along the Syrian border on Golan Heights 370 (R)
(photo credit: IDF Spokesman Unit)
The IDF came under cross-border fire from Syria on Friday evening, after Syrian artillery shells and light weapons fire were directed at a border patrol on the Golan Heights.
Israel hit back with a missile strike on the Syrian army position from which the fire stemmed.
“We identified an accurate strike,” an IDF representative said.
There were no injuries among Israeli military personnel. It remains unclear if there were any injuries on the Syrian side.
The army later informed the United Nations of the incident.
Fighting from the Syrian civil war has spilled over into Israeli territory on a number of occasions.
Earlier this month a mortar shell fired from Syria hit the Golan Heights near Tel Fares.
Following the incident, the IDF fired tank shells at the source of shots. That target was accurately struck too, the IDF said.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon toured the Syrian border on April 2, and vowed that Israel would not tolerate any cross-border fire.
“Whether through Grad rocket fire from over the border, whether it is intended to hit our territory or not, we respond in order to silence the source of the fire,” he said.
He also warned that Israel would act to prevent the proliferation of weapons “that could threaten us in the future” to radical elements in Syria.