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Israeli army strikes Syrian artillery positions in central Golan Heights

Xinhua, September 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli army said on Tuesday that its air force struck Syrian army posts in retaliation for a mortar shell that fell in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights Monday.

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 which hit Israel on Monday evening, IAF (Israeli Air Force) aircraft targeted artillery positions of Syrian Regime in the central Golan Heights," a military spokesperson said in a statement.

Last week, Israel fired back at posts of the Syrian army three times.

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.

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