Israel strikes Syria after errant mortar hit Golan Heights

The Israeli military said on Thursday that it struck Syrian army posts in retaliation for a mortar that fell in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights Wednesday.

The overnight airstrike came after a Syrian mortar, apparently a spillover from the fighting in Syria, exploded in an open field in the Golan Heights.

"In response to the projectile fired from Syria yesterday, IAF (Israeli Air Force) targeted Syrian Armed Forces mortar launcher in the northern Syrian Golan Heights," a military spokesperson said in a statement.

A similar incident occurred on Sunday, with Israel firing back toward posts of the Syrian army.

Errant fire from the fighting in Syria has occasionally been spilling over to Israel, usually causing no casualties or damage.

Israel had occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed the territory in 1981.

In July, the Israeli army failed to intercept an unmanned aerial vehicle over the Golan Heights, despite launching two Patriot air defense missiles at it, the IDF spokesperson said. The drone had apparently returned to Syria.

Israel had repeatedly declared it would not intervene in the internal fighting in Syria. It did provide medical treatment to hundreds of wounded Syrians who reached the border.

Israel had also been responsible for several airstrikes in Syria in the past several years, allegedly targeting convoys carrying weapons from Iran and Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah militant organization, a staunch enemy of Israel.

The country had remained quiet on these attacks up until two months ago, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel carried out "dozens" of attacks across the border. Endit