3 Syrian tanks enter Golan demilitarized zone

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

JERUSALEM, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the Golan Heights on the Israel-Syrian border, prompting the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to raise the alert level in this area, the IDF spokesman's office told Xinhua Saturday.

The Syrian tanks proceeded into a village located a few kilometers from an IDF outpost, a move believed related to the internal conflict in the country.

Israel has complained to the United Nations peacekeeping force in the area after the Syrian tanks were deployed in the area, an IDF spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua.

Israeli media reported that there were also two Syrian armored personnel carriers that had entered the zone.

Over the past 24 hours some mortar shells were fired into the DMZ, one of which caused a fire near the Israel-Syria border, according to the reports.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it later, an act not recognized by the international community. The DMZ was created after the 1973 war in which Syria tried to retake the strategic plateau.