Israel downs drone from Syria over occupied Golan: Army

JERUSALEM - Agence France-Presse

An Israeli soldier brushes his teeth near the Qunietra crossing in the Golan Heights Aug. 31. REUTERS Photo

Israel downed a drone over the occupied Golan Heights on Aug. 31, the army said, amid mounting tension on the U.N.-patrolled armistice line with Syria on the strategic plateau.

Air defences "successfully intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that breached Israel airspace above the border with Syria," an army statement said.

Heavy fighting between Syrian government troops and opposition forces flowed into the buffer zone separating Syrian and Israeli-occupied territory at the weekend.

Dozens of Filipino U.N. peacekeepers escaped the hot zone overnight after rebels rammed their Golan Heights outpost with armed trucks, the Philippine military said.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967, then annexed it in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community.

The U.N. Disengagement Observer Force has been monitoring the ceasefire since 1974.