Israel on Tuesday opened artillery fire into Syria and delivered a sharp warning that it will forcefully act to defend itself after four of its soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb on the Golan Heights.
The incident is the most serious in the occupied area since the Syrian conflict began three years ago. One soldier was seriously wounded in the blast.
Military spokesman Peter Lerner said the patrol noticed “suspicious movement” along the frontier, and when they went to investigate, the bomb went off. “Clearly this is a grave result and we will be following it,” he said.
It was the latest in a series of incidents in the volatile area. Last week, a roadside bomb went off near a military patrol along the Lebanese border, causing no injuries.
Earlier this month, the army said it killed two militants affiliated with Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group fighting alongside Syrian government troops, who were trying to plant a bomb along the frontier.
Although Lerner said it was too early to blame any group for Tuesday’s attack, Israel has been on high alert for an attack by Hezbollah since an Israeli air-strike last month targeted a suspected weapons convoy of the group in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah vowed to avenge the strike, though Israel has never confirmed carrying it out.
Israel has said it will not allow sophisticated weapons to flow from Syria to the Iranian-supported Hezbollah, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a heavily armed foe of the Jewish state.
Lerner said Israel targeted Syrian positions on Tuesday because it holds Syria responsible for all attacks emanating from its territory.
“france24”
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