JERUSALEM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel's army said on Sunday night that its troops opened fire at "armed infiltrators" after the latter crossed a buffer zone near the Israeli-Syrian border.
A military spokesperson said in a statement that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spotted armed suspects who crossed a buffer zone into Israel near the Syrian border fence in the Golan Heights.
The buffer zone was established by the United Nations as part of a 1974 cease-fire agreement between Israel and Syria.
In response, the Israeli troops fired towards the suspects, the spokesperson said, adding that no injuries of Israeli soldiers were reported.
The condition of the suspects was not immediately clear.
"The IDF will continue to operate against violations of Israeli sovereignty," the spokesperson added.
The army did not elaborate on the intentions of the armed men.
The incident came amid worries in Israel over U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement about the U.S. troops withdrawal from Syria.
Israel and Syria share a disputed border along the Golan Heights, a territory seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and never recognized internationally.
Israel is concerned about Iranian forces, who are fighting in Syria along Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese Iran-backed Shiite militia.
The Israeli air force has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against what it says are Iranian military sites and weapons convoys to Hezbollah.
In addition, Israel has often responded to errant fire from the fighting between Syrian army forces and rebels near the border with artillery fire against al-Assad's army positions.
