Israeli tanks fire warning shots on border with Syria

It says it was responding to 'suspicious figures manning military posts'

The Israeli military said tanks stationed in the Golan Heights fired warning shots after spotting 'suspicious figures'. AFP

Israeli tanks fired warning shots along the frontier with Syria in the Golan Heights after several suspicious figures were spotted near an Israeli force operating in the area, its military said.

Syria's state news agency Sana said explosions were heard in the Quneitra region late on Wednesday after shells fell in the Syrian village of Al Hurriya. The shelling was accompanied by Israeli helicopters and surveillance aircraft flying over the area, it said.

The report gave no details of any casualties or damage.

The Israeli military said the tanks “fired shells aimed at chasing away the suspects”, who then fled into Syrian territory.

It said the suspicious figures were manning “military posts”, but did not elaborate. It said that the Israeli force had been operating within Israeli lines.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It imposed Israeli law on the region in December 1981, a move not recognised by most of the international community.

The Israeli Cabinet last month approved plans to double the settler population in the Golan. About 25,000 Israeli settlers live there, as well as about 23,000 members of the Druze sect who stayed on the land after it was seized.