Blast damages IDF vehicle patrolling Syrian border

An army source said it was not yet clear whether the blast occurred on the western or eastern side of the border fence.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
An IDF artillery vehicle on the Golan Heights 370 (photo credit: IDF Spokesperson Unit)
An IDF artillery vehicle on the Golan Heights 370
(photo credit: IDF Spokesperson Unit)
An explosion on the Israel-Syria border in the northern Golan Heights damaged the rear window of an IDF patrol vehicle on Friday evening. There were no injuries in the incident.
An army source said it was not yet clear whether the blast occurred on the western or eastern side of the border fence.
"We're examining all possibilities," the source said.
On Sunday, a cross-border shooting from Syria on an IDF patrol was described by an army source as a deliberate attack launched by a lone Syrian soldier, and not stay fire.
After identifying the source of the fire and seeing that they were being targeted on purpose, an IDF infantry unit returned fire, striking the attacker's position. It remains unclear if the Syrian shooter was killed or injured in the return fire.
Earlier that day, a Syrian mortar shell crossed into Israel and exploded near the Druse village of Majdal Shams. There were no injuries in the incident, and the IDF did not return fire.
In southern Syria near the border with Israel, rebels and the Syrian army have been clashing on a daily basis in recent days, with rebel forces defending a strip of villages under their control from a regime push to retake them. Some of the border regions are under the control of the Syrian army.
IDF officials report witnessing a basic pattern in which the Syrian army gathers its forces near a village under rebel control, prompting civilians to flee. A battle then ensues, and civilians return to their homes when it ends.
"There have been no strategic changes here," the army source said, adding "This pattern has been repeating itself."
In October, two soldiers were lightly injured in the area by shrapnel from a Syrian mortar. The Syrian artillery post that fired the projectile was destroyed by the IDF soon after.
During the same month, the IDF tested a barrier being built on the border with Syria and found it to be missile proof.  
Earlier this year, the army fired a Tamuz guided surface-to-surface missile at a Syrian army post following two incidents of gunfire directed at Israeli soldiers.