Druze rioters kill wounded Syrian en route to hospital in Golan Heights

The dead man was one of two Syrians dragged from an ambulance late on Monday. Syria's state news agency described the pair as Jabhat Al Nusra terrorists.

Medical gloves and material are seen lying on the floor in the Israeli settlement of Neve Ativ on June 23, 2015, at the scene where two wounded Syrians were attacked. Jalaa Marey/AFP Photo

MAJDAL SHAMS // Druze rioters in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights have attacked an ambulance carrying two wounded Syrian men and beat one of them to death.

The two, described by Syrian state news agency Sana as Jabhat Al Nusra terrorists, were being taken to hospital late on Monday.

Dozens of Druze in the town of Majdal Shams stoned their ambulance, forcing it to stop, then dragged the patients out.

The mob beat one of the men, who was later pronounced dead, and further wounded the other. An Israeli soldier and another officer were also hurt.

Sana praised the Druze as heroes who punished the two for “participating in attacks on the nation and its people”.

It accused Israel of supporting “crimes by terrorist groups in Syria and offering them medical help”, as Israeli defence minister Moshe Yaalon pledged to track down those responsible.

“Law enforcement authorities will deal with it heavy-handedly,” Mr Yaalon said.

Members of the Druze minority in Israel have become deeply concerned over the fate of those in Syria after attacks by rebels.

This month, fighters from Jabhat Al Nusra, Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, killed 23 Druze in Syria’s Idlib province. Last week, the group surrounded Hader, the last government-held Druze village, which is on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

The Druze in the occupied Golan Heights are largely supportive of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, and the rioters on Monday believed the men in the ambulance were rebels.

However, Israel denied this. “The claim that we’re helping Al Nusra Front is incorrect,” said military spokesman Brig Gen Moti Almoz.

Damascus regularly accuses Israel of backing forces fighting the regime. Israel said it was not involved in the fighting but could not rule out the possibility that some of the men who received medical care were rebels.

Army spokesman Maj Arye Shalicar noted that Israel had treated more than 1,600 Syrians in the past three years.

Officials say there are 110,000 Druze in northern Israel and 20,000 more in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

* Agence France-Presse with additional reporting by Bloomberg