At midnight on Sunday, 27 November, 2016 (1:00 Monday, Damascus GMT), Israeli warplanes carried out approximately seven sustained raids targeting de Maaraba and Ein Theker villages in Hawd al-Yarmouk, located in Daraa province. These two villages are controlled by members of “Jaish Khaled Bin Al-Walid”, who have submitted themselves to the group that calls itself “The Islamic State,” also known as ISIS. These raids were conducted following hours of clashes in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights between members of ISIS and Israeli border guards. Syrians for Truth and Justice reporter that the airstrikes resulted in the death of three members of “Jaish Khaled Bin Al-Walid”.
After the first clashes, Avichay Adraee, the Israeli Defense Force Arabic spokesman, posted the following on his Facebook account: “A military force conducting a security action south of the Golan Heights was struck by gunshot from light weapons and mortar missiles by rebels. There then followed an exchange of gunshots, but no injuries were registered by our forces. As a reaction to this assault, an aircraft targeted a rebels’ cell. The Israeli Defense Army will not tolerate any attempt to violate the sovereignty of Israel State and will firmly respond to any such attempt.”
It is important to note that “Jaish Khaled Bin Al-Walid” was established in late May of 2016 in the Hawd al-Yarmouk area in the wake of the ongoing war between the Syrian armed opposition and the groups accused of affiliating with “ISIS”, which the armed opposition successfully trapped into one geographic place. The armed opposition forces include Al-Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, Al-Muthanna movement, Saraya Aljihad (Jihad Brigade Hamza Assadollah Battalion, and Ansar aL-Aqsa group).