Syrian shelling into Israel is believed to be result of errant fire
Israel repatriates 6 Syrian rebels after being treated for wounds. The 7th, with severe wounds, is still under Israeli medical care.
U.N. confirms its staff member is still missing after being last seen near the Syrian-Israeli border.
A mortar round fired from Syria on Wednesday exploded near Alonei Habashan on the Golan Heights. No one was wounded, according to Army Radio.
The IDF says the Syrians’ repatriation “was completed at an undisclosed location for their own safety.” – Photo: AP
Israeli troops were searching the moshav for additional shells after residents reported hearing other explosions. On Wednesday Syrian rebel forces were battling troops loyal to the Syrian regime, leading investigators to believe that the attack was a result of errant fire, such as has been the case in previous incidents.
Israel, meanwhile, has repatriated six out of seven Syrians brought into Israel recently for the treatment of wounds suffered in the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The Syrians were admitted to Israel on Feb. 16 through the Golan Heights, whose eastern foothills have seen fighting between Assad’s forces and rebels. Israeli officials gave no details of the casualties’ identities.
An IDF spokeswoman said six of the Syrians were discharged from hospital and returned to Syria on Wednesday. The seventh was still in hospital with severe wounds, she said.
A statement issued by the IDF said the Syrians’ repatriation “was completed at an undisclosed location for their own safety.” Israel and Syria are technically at war, and some anti-Assad rebels are jihadists hostile to the Jewish state.
This week it was reported in the Arab press that Assad’s forces had retreated entirely from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
Meanwhile, the U.N. has confirmed that one its staff members, believed to be Canadian, is missing along the Syrian-Israeli border.
Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general, told a media briefing in New York that an employee working with the peacekeeping mission along the Golan Heights was unaccounted for in the region, the Canadian Press news agency reported.
Del Buey would not confirm a name or nationality, but media reports in Israel identify the man as Carl Campeau, a Canadian legal adviser.
View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=7573
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