Israel hits Syria targets after stray fire on Golan

A picture taken from the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights shows an Israeli army excavator working in the area of the ceasefire line between the Syria-Israel border, near the village of Beer Ajam (background) on July 12, 2016 (AFP Photo/Jalaa Marey)

Jerusalem (AFP) - The Israeli air force struck a target in Syria Monday in response to stray fire from its war-wracked neighbour that hit the disputed Golan Heights, an army statement said.

The army said a mortar round hit an uninhabited area near a security barrier along the demarcation line in the centre of the strategic plateau.

"Initial reports suggest that... fire from the internal fighting in Syria hit an open area near the security fence in the central Golan Heights. No injuries have been reported," the statement said.

The air force "successfully targeted the source of the fire in Syria", it said, warning that it holds the Damascus government responsible for any fire that hits Israel.

The Syrian army, in a statement carried on the official SANA news agency, said Israeli forces fired two rockets from drones on the Syrian side of the Golan, damaging a residential building.

On July 4, the Israeli army said it had attacked two Syrian targets on the Golan after stray fire damaged the security fence.

And on July 17, Israeli said its military fired two Patriot missiles at a drone that had infiltrated from Syria.

Israel has sought to avoid being drawn into Syria's complex war which is now in its sixth year, but it has attacked Syrian military targets when fire from the conflict spills over.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.