Golan Heights: Blast near IDF patrol on Syrian border
No injuries or damage reported as blasts goes off near IDF patrol force. Saturday bomb squads will descend on area to investigate whether blast was planned, targeted IDF force on purpose. Incident comes days after IDF forces exchange fire with rebels
A blast shook an IDF force patrolling the border fence between Israel and Syria in the Mount Hermon region in the Golan Heights Friday.
No injuries or damages were sustained. IDF forces were alerted to the scene to investigate whether the blast was a result of an explosive planted in advance.
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With first light Saturday morning, IDF bomb squads will descend on the area in an attempt to understand the cause of the blast. According to the army, the teams will investigate whether the blast occurred as a result of a preplanned attack or rather it was a result of a dislodged land mind swept away and exploded as a result of recent rains.
If the blast will be revealed to be a result of a preplanned attack it would be milestone in the spillage of Syrian infighting into Israel.
IDF tank during a drill at the Golan Heights (Photo: AFP)
The teams will also attempt to determine whether the blast took place on the western (Israeli) side of the border or rather its (Syrian) eastern side.
In any case, the army has ruled out the possibility that the blast was a result of mortar fired from Syria as was the case Monday when IDF forces located fragments of a mortar shell near Majdal Shams. No injuries or damage were reported except a single shrapnel piece that hit a nearby gas station without causing damage.
Friday's incident occurred between Majdal Shams and IDF Outpost 105, where the army operates a field hospital for wounded Syrians. In the area between the town and the hospital, the army has recently been conducting massive fortification work on a new, revamped border fence between Israel and war torn Syria. As a result of the conflict, the IDF has been conducting weekly mind sweeps with the help of massive D9 bulldozers.
Several hours after Monday's mortar, an additional escalation was registered after shots were fired towards an IDF patrol force in the vicinity of Quneitra, close to the Syrian border. No injuries or damage were reported in this event either, but the force responded with fire towards the source.
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