IAF Strikes Syria after Bomb Wounds 4 Soldiers on Border

by Lilach Shoval, Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana, Gadi Golan, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

One soldier seriously wounded, three others receive light-to-moderate injuries when roadside bomb explodes near IDF patrol on border with Syria in the Golan Heights • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: We strike those who strike us.                      

 

One of the wounded soldiers arriving at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa | Photo credit: Herzl Shapira

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Tuesday's border incident, as seen from the Syrian side of the border | Photo credit: Sameer Said Ahmd/www.star-2000.tv

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The Israel-Syria border [Archive] | Photo credit: Ancho Gosh / JINI

 

Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck several targets inside Syria in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after four Israeli soldiers were wounded Tuesday afternoon on the Israel-Syria border by a powerful explosive device that targeted an Israel Defense Forces patrol.

One soldier was seriously wounded, while three others suffered light-to-moderate injuries. The soldiers, all members of the Paratroopers Brigade, were airlifted to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

Credit: Avi Mazoz, JINI, Ofer Freimen, Michel Dot Com

On Wednesday, the IDF said in a statement on its website, "Several hours ago, the IDF struck several Syrian military and security targets located on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which aided the terror attack that left four Israeli soldiers wounded."

"The targets included artillery batteries and posts, as well as a Syrian Army training facility," the statement said. It further confirmed that IDF forces deployed in the sector "returned artillery fire at targets across the border immediately after [Tuesday's] incident and identified a direct hit on one of their targets.

"The IDF reserves the right to act at any time and by any means necessary to defend the people of Israel. A message to that effect has been relayed to Syria following the incident, via the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the area," the statement said.

Dr. Michael Halbertal, Rambam's deputy director, told Army Radio that all four soldiers sustained various degrees of shrapnel injuries. Rambam's trauma chief, Dr. Hani Bachus, said Wednesday that the soldier who sustained serious injuries "suffered a head wound. He underwent two emergency surgeries and is currently in the intensive care unit. His condition is serious and he is still is mortal danger."

The Syrian army on Wednesday said the Israeli airstrikes killed one Syrian soldier and wounded seven. The Syrian army said the strikes targeted three posts near the town of Quneitra.

The Syrian statement also warned Israel against escalating the situation by repeating such "hostile acts." The statement said such acts "endanger the security and stability of the region."

An initial Israeli military inquiry into Tuesday's incident found that the it took place shortly after Israeli troops in the sector spotted a suspicious individual in a border-adjacent enclave on the eastern side of the security fence -- an area which is under Israeli sovereignty.

Two armored vehicles, one carrying the deputy commander of the 202nd Battalion in the Paratroopers Brigade and the other carrying the deputy commander of a company in the battalion, scrambled to the area. As the soldiers were disembarking their vehicles, a powerful roadside bomb was triggered nearby, wounding four of them.

Commenting on the strike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that "the IDF has struck targets on Syrian soil overnight. Those targets had not only enabled the attack on our troops, they cooperated with it. Our policy is very clear -- we strike at those how strike at us.

"We also spare no effort to thwart weapon smuggling attempts at sea, on land and in the air, and overall this activity has resulted in the fact that over the past five years, terror has been at it lowest in a decade, both in casualties and in rocket attacks. Still, from time to time we are required to initiate strikes, as we did in this case, to maintain this calm," Netanyahu said. "It is this policy that is responsible for maintaining Israel's security and safety of its citizens. Within the Middle East, which is undergoing incredible turmoil, Israel remains the most stable and safe place."

Netanyahu commented on the border incident during Tuesday's Likud faction meeting, saying, "The Israel-Syria border is swarming with Hezbollah and jihad elements that pose a new challenge for the State of Israel. Over the past few years we have been able to maintain a quiet border despite the civil war in Syria. We will act forcefully to maintain Israel's security."

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu spoke about the security situation in southern Israel, saying, "Operation Pillar of Defense was followed by a lull the likes of which has not been seen in a decade. We will not tolerate the trickle of rockets and my policy is clear: any fire will meet an immediate and forceful response."

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon told Army Radio Wednesday that "Israel will not tolerate any infringement on its sovereignty or any attack on our soldiers or civilians. We will response with force and tenacity to any attack, anywhere and anytime, as we did here."

Syrian President Bashar Assad "will be held accountable for any action emanating from his territory and if he continues to collaborate with terror groups that seek to harm Israel we will exact a heavy price from him and we will make him regret his actions," Ya'alon said.

While no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack at this time, defense officials said that while it was most likely launched by Hezbollah, the possibility that the attack was the handiwork of global jihad terrorists, or even the Syrian military itself, was still being investigated.

An IDF source said that the leading scenario at this time suggests that the roadside bomb was triggered as part of an ambush, in which a Syrian shepherd was used to lure the soldiers out of their vehicles, making them more vulnerable for attack. This method was frequently used against IDF troops prior to Israel's withdrawal from the security zone in southern Lebanon in 2000, he told Army Radio.

"The execution of this attack was professional. There is no doubt that the Syrians knew about it -- they may have even carried it out for Hezbollah," former Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin told Army Radio. "Something like this, if it proves true, is a game changer and Israel has to make it clear that it would come with a very heavy price. Israel's policy is to hold the country from which an attack emanates responsible for the consequences."

Another defense sources that if the attack was launched by Hezbollah, it was most likely in retaliation for recent airstrikes in Lebanon, which foreign media sources have attributed to Israel. The source said that Hezbollah prefers to launch attacks from Syria, as Israel has warned Lebanon that any attack emanating from its soil would meet a harsh response. The source added that Hezbollah's reluctance to claim responsibility for such attacks indicates that it is trying to avoid a full-blown conflict with Israel.

Tuesday's attack was the third of its kind in the past two weeks, joining a growing series of security incidents on the northern border.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-based Al Arabiya network reported Tuesday that the border incident was an attempt to abduct the soldiers who were wounded. Hezbollah's own Al-Manar TV also covered the incident, but made no mention of an abduction attempt or any other detail that might link the Shiite terror group to the attack.

Israeli defense officials dismissed the notion that the attack was part of an attempted abduction.

Family members of the officer who was seriously hurt in the attack have been at his side since he arrived at Rambam on Tuesday afternoon. "He's a strong boy and we have to believe he's going to pull through," a relative told Israel Hayom.

Lilach Shoval, Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana, Gadi Golan, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=16239

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