Israeli army says seized two suspects in south Syria

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Monday it seized two people it said were approaching an army outpost in an area of southern Syria it has occupied since the overthrow of president Bashar Assad. 'A short while ago, IDF soldiers identified two suspects riding a motorcycle toward an IDF post in the Security Zone in southern Syria. Following an identification, the soldiers opened a suspect apprehension procedure and apprehended the two suspects,' the army said in a statement. 'No IDF injuries were reported,' it added. The incident came hours after the Israeli military killed an assailant near an army post in the so-called 'security zone' in southern Syria in the night between Sunday and Monday. After Ahmed Al-Sharaa came to power in Damascus in late 2024, when his rebel coalition overthrew Assad, Israel launched hundreds of strikes against Syria. The IDF also carried out incursions into the south of the country and deployed troops in the UN-monitored buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated their intention to maintain troops in the 'security zone,' while Israeli leaders have said they want swathes of southern Syria to become a demilitarised zone.