IDF Eliminated Islamic State Ambushers in Golan Incident

Last November, an IDF reconnaissance battalion was ambushed by Islamic State forces close to the Israeli-Syrian border on the southern Golan Heights, and return fire from an IDF artillery unit destroyed the terrorist position.

It was the first direct clash between Israeli forces and the Islamic State in Syria. B’chasdei shamayim, no injuries were reported on the Israeli side.

The ambush consisted of small arms and mortar fire. Unit 74 of the armored corps — which arrived in the area just at that moment for routine operations — retaliated, scoring hits on the Islamic State target, which was once a U.N. observation post, killing the four attackers.

The incident was revealed in an IDF video clip on Thursday, which is being used for purposes of encouraging soldiers to enlist in the artillery. The armored corps has in recent years developed a reputation for relatively poor service conditions, including fewer weekends off than other parts of the military.

Besides this incident, tanks from the IDF Armored Corps have fired on almost 19 targets since the beginning of 2016.