Israel Hits Squad Placing Explosives on Syrian Border

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday said it thwarted an infiltration attempt when it targeted four people overnight who were planting explosives along the border with Syria. After spotting the group near a Golan Heights outpost, Israeli soldiers, backed by air support, “fired simultaneously toward the squad of four terrorists,” a military spokesman said. It is not known whether the squad belonged to Hizbullah or another organization but Israel held “the Syrian regime accountable” for the breach in border security, the spokesman said. There was no immediate comment from Syria. At the same location, until two years, Israel operated a field hospital to treat Syrians who had been wounded in the Syrian civil war, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an army spokesman, told reporters. Tensions are already high between Israel and Syria. Last month, Israeli military helicopters struck targets in southern Syria in retaliation for earlier “munitions” fire toward Israel.