In a statement, the military said it appeared the shooting from Syria was "errant fire" from battles between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebels trying to topple him.

Such fighting, now in its fourth year, has often spilled over into Israeli-held parts of the Golan Heights, territory Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

The military said that in response to the latest fire from the Syrian side of the frontier, "the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) targeted a Syrian army position, and hits were confirmed".

It did not say what type of attack Israel carried out. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was an air strike on a Syrian army base on the Golan. There were no immediate reports of casualties from either side.

Islamist fighters battling the Syrian army last week overran a U.N.-controlled crossing point on the "disengagement line" that has separated Israelis from Syrians on the Golan Heights since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

The fighters then turned against U.N. blue helmets from a peacekeeping force that has patrolled the zone since 1974. After 45 Fijians were captured on Thursday, 72 Filipinos were besieged by militants at two other locations for two days before the peacekeepers escaped.

The militants, believed to be part of an Al Qaeda-linked group known as Nusra Front, are still holding the 45 Fijian members of the United Nations' UNDOF Golan Heights force.

On Sunday, an Israeli Patriot missile shot down what the military described as a Syrian drone over the strategic plateau. </s> Israel said on Saturday it had targeted Syrian military installations after shells landed in the occupied Golan Heights but a Syrian military source said the Israeli strikes killed some civilians. Rebels including hardline Islamist factions fought the Syrian army on Saturday in Quneitra province, bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Syrian state media and a war monitor reported. Israel’s military said 10 projectiles from inside Syria had hit the Golan and it responded with air strikes on the position they were launched from and on two Syrian army tanks, one as it was preparing to fire.

Aerial video footage released by the Israeli military purporting to show the strikes showed a machine gun and two tanks targeted and hit. The military described the shellfire into the Israeli-held territory as errant fire and called it an “unacceptable breach” of sovereignty. The Syrian military source said Israeli rocket fire had hit a residential building, causing a number of deaths and damage. The source did not mention Syrian fire into Israel and said the Israeli strike was in support of jihadist rebels.

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The war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said rebel groups in Quneitra had launched an assault and were storming army positions near Baath City. Israel has targeted Syria several times during the conflict, sometimes after projectiles have landed in the Golan Heights, but also to hit weapons supplies of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which is fighting alongside the Syrian government. Syria’s civil war, between President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking to oust him, has lasted six years, killed hundreds of thousands and pushed millions to flee their homes. </s> Israeli aircraft struck various positions in Syria Saturday, destroying two tanks, in response to more than 10 projectiles that landed in its territory, the military said.

The flare-up marked a rare case of Israeli involvement in the bloody fighting next door. Israel has steadfastly stayed on the sidelines of Syria's civil war, now in its seventh year, refraining from taking sides or getting drawn into hostilities. It has responded in the past with limited strikes when fire has spilled into Israel and holds the Syrian government responsible for any such incidents. It's also reportedly hit advanced weapons shipments from Syria to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said fighting between Syrian troops and rebels had spilled over again, with projectiles landing on the Israeli side of the frontier. It said no injuries or damage was caused but with Israelis flocking to the Golan Heights in the summer for hikes and fruit picking, the military took the precautionary step of asking civilians to avoid gathering near the border. Later, it announced that it had targeted the source of the fire and hit two tanks belonging to the Syrian military.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said Syrian troops and their allies repelled an attack by insurgents on the outskirts of the southern city of Baath on the edge of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The SCMM accused an Israeli helicopter of assisting insurgents in their attack on military outposts.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on his Arabic-language Facebook page that about 10 shells hit the Israeli-occupied area nearby, adding that Israel's air force struck Syrian army targets in the area.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said that Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian army position in Quneitra while Syria's state-run news agency SANA said "an army position was targeted in Quneitra."

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. </s> JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military struck artillery positions in Syria on Tuesday after a projectile from that country’s civil war hit the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights, but denied a Syrian claim that Syrian forces shot down two Israeli aircraft.

The incident was the fifth case since last week in which fighting in Syria has spilled over into Israel, and the first since a U.S.-Russia brokered truce went into effect at sunset on Monday to try and end the civil war, now in its sixth year.

Israel has largely remained on the sidelines of the fighting, but has carried out reprisals on Syrian positions when errant fire previously landed in Israel.

Shortly after the air raid, Syria’s armed forces claimed to have shot down an Israeli warplane and an unmanned drone along the frontier.

The Israeli military quickly denied the report, saying that a pair of surface-to-air missiles were fired at its aircraft but missed. “At no point was the safety of IDF (Israel Defense Forces) aircraft compromised,” it said.

Israeli warplanes have conducted several raids on Syrian army positions over the past weeks after stray shells hit the Israeli-controlled Golan. Israel is also widely believed to have carried out airstrikes on arms shipments said to be destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a close ally of the Syrian government.

Later on Tuesday, the Israeli military said another “projectile” fired from Syria hit the Golan Heights, causing no injuries. It would not elaborate further.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and the two countries have technically been in a state of war for decades. </s> JERUSALEM — Israeli aircraft struck various positions in Syria Saturday, destroying two tanks, in response to more than 10 projectiles that landed in its territory, the military said.

The flare-up marked a rare case of Israeli involvement in the bloody fighting next door. Israel has steadfastly stayed on the sidelines of Syria's civil war, now in its seventh year, refraining from taking sides or getting drawn into hostilities. It has responded in the past with limited strikes when fire has spilled into Israel and holds the Syrian government responsible for any such incidents. It's also reportedly hit advanced weapons shipments from Syria to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said fighting between Syrian troops and rebels had spilled over again, with projectiles landing on the Israeli side of the frontier. It said no injuries or damage was caused but with Israelis flocking to the Golan Heights in the summer for hikes and fruit picking, the military took the precautionary step of asking civilians to avoid gathering near the border. Later, it announced that it had targeted the source of the fire and hit two tanks belonging to the Syrian military.

Syrian state media said a number of people were killed.

"We have no intention of allowing the breech of our sovereignty and harming of our security to go unpassed," said Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "As far as we are concerned, the Assad regime is responsible for what is happening in its territory and it will continue to bear the consequences if such events repeat themselves."

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said Syrian troops and their allies repelled an attack by insurgents on the outskirts of the southern city of Baath on the edge of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The SCMM accused an Israeli helicopter of assisting insurgents in their attack on military outposts.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on his Arabic-language Facebook page that about 10 shells hit the Israeli-occupied area nearby, adding that Israel's air force struck Syrian army targets in the area.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said that Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian army position in Quneitra while Syria's state-run news agency SANA said "an army position was targeted in Quneitra."

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. </s> JERUSALEM: Israel said it had attacked Syrian military targets on Sunday after stray shells from fighting in Syria's civil war landed inside the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

The Syrian shells hit an open area in the northern Golan Heights, causing no injuries, and in retaliation the Israeli military said it "targeted two artillery positions and an ammunitions truck belonging to the Syrian regime".

It was the second day in a row that errant fire from Syria drew Israeli retaliation.

Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines of Syria's civil war, keeping watch over the Golan Heights frontier and occasionally carrying out air strikes or returning fire if there is a specific threat. It captured the Golan in a 1967 Middle East war. </s> A man sits on an old tank as he watches fighting taking place in Syria as seen from the Israeli side of the border fence between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights September 11, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said its aircraft attacked a Syrian army position on Tuesday after a stray mortar bomb struck the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, and it denied a Syrian statement that a warplane and drone were shot down.

The air strike was a now-routine Israeli response to the occasional spillover from fighting in a five-year-old civil war, and across Syria a ceasefire was holding at the start of its second day.

Syria’s army command said in a statement that Israeli warplanes had attacked an army position at 1 a.m. on Tuesday (2200 GMT, Monday) in the countryside of Quneitra province.

The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked targets in Syria hours after the mortar bomb from fighting among factions in Syria struck the Golan Heights. Israel captured the plateau from Syria in a 1967 war.

Related Coverage Israeli military denies any of its aircraft shot down in Syria

The Syrian army said it had shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone after the Israeli attack.

Denying any of its aircraft had been lost, the Israeli military said in a statement: “Overnight two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission to target Syrian artillery positions. At no point was the safety of (Israeli) aircraft compromised.”

The seven-day truce in Syria, brokered by Russia and the United States, is their second attempt this year by to halt the bloodshed. </s> Israeli tanks and warplanes fired at Syrian army positions overnight on Sunday in response to what an Israeli military spokesman described as an intentional attack from inside Syria.

"At least 10 members of the Syrian army were killed," said Rami Abdurrahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group that collects information from activists in Syria.

The strikes also destroyed two army tanks and targeted an army headquarters, he said, confirming that the Israeli strikes had aimed at nine positions.

The three-year-old Syrian conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the rebels who want to overthrow him has spilled over into bordering countries and escalated regional tensions.

The strikes were in response to an anti-tank missile which was fired from Syria across the frontier fence on the Golan, Israel said on Sunday.

The missile had struck a water tanker in which Mohammed Qaraqara, 13, had been travelling, the military said, describing the attack as the most serious on the border with Syria since the start of the conflict.

Shelling from Syria has occasionally hit the Golan, including what Israel has said were deliberate attacks on its troops. Israel captured the western part of the plateau from Syria in a 1967 war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognised.

While the Syrian army has a presence on the Golan, some areas are controlled by the rebels, including militant groups hostile to the Jewish state. </s> The General Command of the Syrian Armed Forces said in a statement that the incident occurred at 1:30 am local time Tuesday (6:30 p.m. ET Monday), after Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian army position in al-Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights .

The statement said that Syrian air defense shot down a warplane southwest of al-Quneitra, and a drone west of the town of SaaSaa.

But the IDF spokesman's office called the claims "total lies."

Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said that "overnight two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission overnight to target Syrian artillery positions. At no point was the safety of IDF aircraft compromised."

The Israeli mission had been conducted to strike Syrian regime targets after a projectile launched from Syria had struck the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. No casualties had resulted from the Syrian strike on the Golan Heights, the IDF said. The Golan has been repeatedly struck with projectiles fired from across the border in southwest Syria, as fighting in the country's five-year civil war drags on. Last week, three projectiles landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights The Israeli strike on Syria came hours after a nationwide ceasefire , brokered by the United States and Russia, came into effect in the war-ravaged country. Syria ceasefire: What you need to know Syria: Will ceasefire hold in first 24 hours? In the first 24 hours of the deal, the second concerted attempt this year to halt the grinding civil war, the peace appeared to be holding, although a monitoring group reported a number of violations in and around Aleppo in its early hours. Israel seized parts of the Golan Heights, a strategic, rocky plateau to its northeast, from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. An Israeli tank in the Golan Heights near the Quneitra crossing with Syria in July. The international community considers the Golan Heights to be occupied territory and Israeli settlement-building there to be illegal. Syria wants the return of the territory that UN peacekeeping forces have monitored for decades.
Israel and Syria exchange weapons fire in the disputed Golan Heights, with Israel destroying several targets, including two Syrian tanks. Although there were deaths on the ground in Syria, the number of casualties among Syrian forces is unknown. No Israeli troops were injured.