Israel strikes Syrian positions after shell lands in Golan-army

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft attacked targets in Syria on Thursday, for the second time in five days, after an errant mortar shell from fighting among factions in Syria struck the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.

No casualties from the shellfire were reported and a statement by the military spokesman's office said "the Israeli air force targeted Syrian armed forces mortar launchers in the northern Syrian Golan Heights."

The area is close to where fighting in the Syrian civil war is taking place. Israel has responded similarly in the past when there has been an overspill of fire into the territory.

The previous retaliation for errant fire took place on Sunday when Israeli aircraft struck Syrian positions after a number of shells landed on the Israeli-controlled Golan.

Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau, from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move that has not won international recognition.

(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Tom Brown)

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