IDF units reportedly ordered into Syria Saturday to recover paraglider after crossing over border in order to join ISIS-affiliated terror group.
By Israel Today Staff
Unconfirmed reports suggest Israeli ground forces briefly entered Syria on Saturday evening after an Israeli man paraglided across the border.
It was initially feared that the paragliding Israeli unintentionally drifted into war-torn Syria and would there be abducted by one of various terrorist militias. The northern Golan Heights region is popular with Israeli paragliders.
A large IDF force was deployed to the area, and several units were said to have infiltrated a short distance into Syria in order to identify the Israeli and bring him home.
Yesterday: IDF surveillance post identified a paraglider entering Syria. Initial investigation suggests Israeli-Arab crossed intentionally.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) October 25, 2015
It was later learned that the man was a 23-year-old Arab resident of central Israel who intentionally crossed the border in order to join an ISIS-affiliated terror group.
The Syrian side of the Golan Heights is largely controlled by the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front. But a small group has broken away from Al-Nusra and has instead declared allegiance to ISIS. The group known as Shuada al Yarmouq controls the area where the Israeli Arab man landed.
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