JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel retaliated for mortar fire from Syria that injured two soldiers.
The Israeli army said its Tammuz missile hit a Syrian mortar on Wednesday, according to a report. It was the third time Israel has returned fire, including when a mortar shell fired from Syria struck an Israeli army post.
Earlier in the day, a mortar shell fired from Syria landed in the northern Golan Heights. The soldiers were hit by shrapnel, according to reports. One also suffered from shock.
It reportedly was the first time that Israelis were injured as a result of the ongoing civil war in Syria; the mortars likely were not meant to target Israeli soldiers. However, Israeli workers building a fence last week near an Israeli military post on the Syrian border came under fire from Syria last week and Israeli troops patroling the border in the same area were fired on.
Dozens of mortar shells have landed on Israel’s side of the Golan since the start of the Syrian civil war more than two years ago. Israel has filed complaints with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force stationed on the Golan.
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