Syrians targeted Israeli patrol on Golan with bomb: Israel

(Reuters) – The Israeli army said on Saturday that an Israeli military vehicle had been damaged by a bomb set off by Syrians on frontier of the occupied Golan Heights.

The attack on Friday was thought to be the first targeted bombing of Israeli forces since the start of Syria’s civil war although the army could not confirm that was the case.

The vehicle was damaged but nobody was hurt.

A military spokeswoman said the explosion was caused by a concealed device placed on the Syrian side of the frontier fence but it was unclear which of the Syrian factions were responsible.

Fire from fighting between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebels has occasionally spilled over into the Golan but is thought to have been largely accidental.

On several occasions Israel has responded after stray munitions landed in Israeli-controlled territory, often aiming tank shells across the border at the sources of fire in Syria.

Israel has also attacked from the air convoys of sophisticated munitions that Syria has tried to ship to its Hezbollah ally in Lebanon and has reportedly been behind other attacks on targets in Syria but has declined to confirm this.

Israel captured the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed it in 1981 in a move that has not been internationally recognized.

On Monday, Israeli troops hit a target in Syria after its troops were shot at on the Golan Heights, the military said. There were no Israeli casualties in the incident.