Islamic State said to dig up graves in Syria in search for Israeli MIAs

Palestinian terror group claims IS aimed to transfer to Israel bodies of soldiers who went missing in Lebanon in 1982

Miriam and Yoni Baumel in 2003 holding a picture of their son Zachary, who had been missing in action since 1982. (Flash90)
Miriam and Yoni Baumel in 2003 holding a picture of their son Zachary, who had been missing in action since 1982. (Flash90)

A Palestinian official based in Syria has claimed that Islamic State members and other insurgents excavated graves in a Damascus cemetery looking for the remains of three Israeli soldiers who have been missing in action for 36 years.

Their goal was to transfer the bodies to Israel, said Anwar Raja of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command terror organization, although it was not clear in what kind of context or for what purpose.

The graves were in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, over which Syrian troops regained control last week from members of the IS terror group after a month-long battle, he said.

Raja did not say whether the insurgents had found any bodies, nor did he identify the corpses that were sought.

Missing-in-action Israel Defense Forces soldiers Zachary Baumel, Zvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz. (The International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers)

Tzvi Feldman, Yehuda Katz and Zachary Baumel are the three soldiers who have been missing in action since the first Lebanon War.

In June 1982, 30 Israeli soldiers were killed and five were captured in a battle near the village of Sultan Yacoub in Lebanon, close to the Syrian border.

Two of the captured soldiers were returned to Israel alive and the remaining three are still officially missing in action because no conclusive proof has been presented that they died.

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