Israel says it hit target in Syria

By Sena Guler

ANKARA

Israeli army said on Monday it had responded to a mortar shell fired from Syria which struck the occupied Golan Heights.

In a statement on Twitter, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said: “Earlier today, a mortar shell fell adjacent to the security fence in the northern Golan Heights, which appears to have been errant fire from the war in Syria.

“In response, the IDF targeted one artillery piece in the area from which the fire originated, in the northern Syrian Golan Heights.”

The IDF held the Syrian regime “accountable” for the attack and said it will not “tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty or endanger civilians”.

The army did not give information regarding the nature of weapon which hit the Syrian region.

On April 9, two jets hit the "T4" airbase in the central Homs province of Syria, in which two soldiers, five militiamen and seven Iranians were killed. Russia and Iran blamed Israel for the attack.

Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Middle East War.