Syrian regime and rebels clash over key hill overlooking Israeli-occupied Golan

Syrian regime and rebels clash over key hill overlooking Israeli-occupied Golan
Battles in an area close to Israeli occupied Golan Heights raged on Monday, as rebels and regime forces fight for a key observation post.
1 min read
16 July, 2018
Israeli forces have been closely following regime advances in southern Syria [Getty]

Fierce fighting broke out between Syrian rebel and regime forces on Monday as the two sides battle for an observation post overlooking the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Clashes erupted around the key Tell al-Haara hill, with regime forces shelling and bombing Syrian rebel villages and positions in the area.

Reports emerged that Bashar al-Assad's forces had captured the hilltop, before the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 12 regime fighters were killed in a rebel ambush, which forces the attackers to retreat.

Around 30 rebel defenders have been killed in regime shelling of the hill since Sunday.

Tell al-Haara lies in a sensitive area, overlooking land illegally captured and annexed by Israel following its 1967 war with Israel.

Israel has warned against pro-regime Iranian units entering the tense Golan Heights region, with numerous airstrikes launched on Hizballah and Tehran's positions in Syria.

Assad forces have also continued to capture more rebel land in neighbouring Daraa with more than 90 percent of the province now in regime hands.