Israeli military 'captures terrorist cell operated by Iran' in southern Syria

Syria state TV reports three people arrested by Israeli troops

Israeli troops across the border in Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the occupied Golan Heights, in December. EPA

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it captured a “terrorist cell operated by Iran” in an operation in southern Syria, as Syrian state media said three people were arrested.

Israeli troops have been stationed in Syria since the fall of president Bashar Al Assad regime in December, where they have established a buffer zone near the border. Syrian authorities have condemned Israel pushing deeper into the country.

Israeli forces “completed a night-time operation to apprehend a terrorist cell operated by Iran in areas" in southern Syria, the army said.

It added the "targeted operation" had led to the arrest of several "terrorists” and the forces found weapons, including firearms and grenades.

Syrian state TV said an Israeli patrol consisting of eight vehicles and about 40 soldiers arrested three people from the village of Al Bassali, in the Quneitra area of south-western Syria bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors conflict in Syria, reported an operation which "resulted in the arrest of three citizens of Palestinian origin".

It said the people were inside a farm "at the time of the raid, without any clashes or intervention by [Syrian] military or security forces in the area".

According to the UK-based watchdog, the overnight operation came two months after a relative of the three was arrested and transferred to an Israeli prison.

The Israeli army said troops “continue to operate and prevent the entrenchment of any terrorist elements in Syria, with the goal of protecting Israeli civilians and the residents of the Golan Heights in particular”.

Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran on June 13 that killed top military commanders and scientists linked to its nuclear programme. Tehran responded with ballistic missile attacks on Israeli cities. A ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump came into effect on June 24.

Last month, a small group in southern Syria that once formed part of a Hezbollah network was suspected of carrying out a rocket attack on an Israeli-occupied area in the Golan Heights, sources said at the time.

Syrian authorities had denied Israeli claims Damascus was responsible.

The two rockets hit an open area and caused no casualties, according to the Israeli military, which responded with air raids on several Syrian military sites.

It was the first such attack on Israel from Syria since rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group toppled Mr Al Assad. President Ahmad Al Shara has sought to consolidate control of the country in the face of sectarian violence, and now faces the challenge of handling the Israeli response to the attack.

A previously little known group calling itself the Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades claimed responsibility. Mr Deif was the military chief of Hamas who was killed by Israel last year in its war to eliminate the Palestinian militant group from Gaza.

Israel was initially sceptical about Mr Al Shara's government, but Mr Trump has been pushing for reconciliation.

On Monday, Israel said it was interested in establishing ties with Syria as well as Lebanon in an expansion of the Abraham Accords, in what would mark a major transformation of the Middle East.