Syrian state media says regime forces have reached the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after capturing territory from rebels and Islamic State militants.
Al-Ikhbariya TV on Tuesday broadcast footage from the fence demarcating the U.N. buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces inside the Golan Heights.
The camera showed an Israeli observation post 400 meters (440 yards) away.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. The U.N. deployed a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974.
It is the first time government forces have taken up positions along the frontier since an uprising against Bashar Assad swept through the country in 2011. Islamic State militants later seized territory from rebels along the frontier region.
In relevant development, the Israeli military says the Syrian plane it shot down departed from the T4 air base, which Israel is believed to have attacked earlier this year.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says Tuesday that the plane flew toward Israel at "relatively high speed" before breaching the country's airspace. He said it was unknown if the plane deliberately crossed into Israel nor what happened to its pilot. The plane crashed in the southern part of the Golan Heights, he said.
He said the increased activity near Israel's frontier with Syria put the military on "elevated alert" and prompted Israel to issue a number of warnings through different channels to ensure a 1974 agreement which sets out a demilitarized zone along the shared Syria-Israel frontier would not be violated
AP
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.