Israel targets Syrian armed forces after ‘munitions fired towards border’

Israeli aircraft have attacked several military targets in Syria after “munitions were fired” towards the disputed Golan Heights region, the Israeli army has said.

Israel Defence Forces said in a statement that its helicopters struck Syrian Armed Forces observation posts and intelligence collection systems.

Anti-tank guided missiles hit three outposts in Quneitra, southwest Syria, wounding two people, Syrian state news reported, quoting a military source.

The strikes came hours after the Israeli military said an explosion on the Syrian side of the border damaged a building and a car in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed.

Tensions in the region have flared after an air strike in Damascus on Monday – widely believed to have been carried out by Israel – killed five foreign fighters, including a member of Hezbollah.

With the powerful Iranian-backed Lebanese militia having vowed to respond to the Israeli killing of any of its members following the death of two of its fighters in the Syrian capital last August, Israel said it had boosted its military presence along its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria.

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