IDF arrests 2 suspects in Golan for entering Israeli territory from Syria

Army says the two men were nabbed in ambush along border; arrests follow recent reported attacks on targets linked to Iran’s efforts to establish military presence in area

Israeli troops early Friday arrested two suspects in the Golan Heights who intentionally entered Israeli territory from Syria, the military said.

The Israel Defense Forces said the suspects were arrested during a “planned ambush” in an area along the border that is under Israeli sovereignty but on the Syrian side of the security fence.

The military said the suspects intentionally crossed into Israeli territory, without further elaborating.

“The ambush was carried out as part of the continued effort to defend the border,” an IDF statement said.

The two suspects were taken for questioning after they were arrested. The military did not specify whether or not they were armed when captured.

The arrests follow a number of recent attacks in Syria that were attributed to Israel, including a helicopter strike several weeks ago on targets reportedly linked to the Hezbollah terror group’s efforts to establish a presence along the Golan frontier.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes inside Syria over the course of the country’s civil war, targeting what it says are suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces.

Israel has also reportedly carried out several strikes along the border targeting Hezbollah and Iranian efforts to entrench themselves in the country, most recently an alleged sniper attack in October that targeted a Syrian intelligence agent.