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4 ISIS-linked terrorists killed after firing at Israeli troops on Golan
An Israeli air strike killed four ISIS-affiliated terrorists near the Syrian border yesterday morning, after Israeli soldiers came under fire.
The incident, which is thought to be the first direct confrontation between Israeli forces and ISIS activists operating in southern Syria, unfolded early Sunday morning. A Golani Brigade reconnaissance unit was operating beyond the border fence within Israeli territory, when it came under fire from a vehicle mounted with a suspected heavy machine gun.
The Israeli soldiers returned fire, but soon came under mortar attack. As a result, Israeli aircraft struck the vehicle and killed four terrorists, who were believed to be members of the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, recently re-named the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army. The Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade is thought to have been established in 2012 and later swore allegiance to ISIS.
YNet quotes an unnamed senior IDF official, who said that the Israeli forces’ response was “sharp and swift and was intended to send a message that we are in the area and are determined to protect our border”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told yesterday’s cabinet meeting: “We are well prepared on our northern border and will not allow ISIS elements or any other hostile elements to use the war in Syria to establish themselves close to our border.”
Although Israel has remained firmly on the sidelines during the five-year Syrian civil war, stray fire has infrequently landed in Israel, prompting an IDF response. Yesterday’s incident was considered a deliberate assault on Israeli forces, although it is unclear whether it represents a shift towards a concerted effort by ISIS-linked forces to target Israel.
Nitzan Nuriel, former director of Israel’s counter-terrorism bureau told the Wall Street Journal: “I don’t think that at this stage…someone decided to open up a new front against Israel.”
However, Amos Yadlin, a former-director of IDF Military Intelligence, told the New York Times it is too early to tell and that the ISIS-affiliate may be pursuing “some propaganda element, some sympathy in the Arab world”.