Syria accuses Israel of treating Al Qaeda-linked militants

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IANS Damascus
Last Updated : Jun 21 2015 | 6:48 PM IST

Syria accused Israel of providing medical treatment for the wounded militants of the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in its hospitals, media reported on Sunday.

The "authorities of the Israeli occupation" are moving the wounded terrorists of Nusra Front from the outskirts of the Syrian town of Hadar to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to treat them, official SANA news agency reported.

The official media has for long accused Israel of backing the rebels of Nusra Front in southern Syria, namely in the Qunaitera province, near Golan Heights, and in Daraa province.

Military experts said Israel aims at securing its areas near Syria, by backing a militia that could serve in securing a buffer zone between Syria and Israel, akin to what it did during the Lebanese civil war.

Several jihadi groups unleashed recently a wide-scale offensive against the remaining government troops' positions in Qunaitera, near the Golan Heights. Their recent assault was focused on the predominantly Druze town of Hadar, just a couple km from Golan Heights.

Israel has reportedly said that it was readying to receive Druze refugees, who would escape the battles in Hadar, a matter that has sparked scoffing from members of the Druze community over Israel's "double standards".

The Druze of Hadar in cooperation with the Syrian army managed to repel an attack by Nusra militants last week, but a witness inside the town has said that Hadar was mostly surrounded by the armed militants, adding that the situation inside was not secure.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels were stationed on hilltop overlooking the northern part of Hadar, adding that the rebels have received reinforcements from their comrades in other parts of Qunaitera.

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First Published: Jun 21 2015 | 6:36 PM IST

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