Syrian forces said to have withdrawn heavy weapons from south, near Israel border, Druze areas

Syria has begun withdrawing heavy weapons from the country’s south as it works to reach an understanding with Israel, officials tell AFP.

The comments came after Syria said that it was working with the United States to reach mutual “security understandings” with Israel, which has demanded the demilitarization of the country’s south.

The announcement was part of a US- and Jordan-backed roadmap for restoring stability in the south following sectarian violence that drew Israeli intervention, and a Syrian military official told AFP that heavy weapons had been withdrawn from the area.

“Syrian forces have withdrawn their heavy weapons from southern Syria,” the military official tells AFP on condition of anonymity, adding the process began around two months ago, after the violence.

A diplomatic source in Damascus tells  AFP, also on condition of anonymity, that the withdrawal covered the country’s south up to about 10 kilometers (six miles) outside the capital.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said in August that his country was engaged in talks to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Syria.