Israel reportedly strikes Syrian car, killing 5 militants

Julie Wiener

(JTA) — An Israeli surveillance plane reportedly bombed a car in Syria, killing five men with ties to a pro-Assad Druze militia and the Hezbollah terrorist group.

The attack Wednesday in Quneitra, near the Israeli border, was said to be targeting Samir Kuntar, a terrorist released from an Israeli prison in a 2008 swap with Hezbollah, according to several media outlets. It was not known whether Kuntar was killed.

According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, three of the dead were members of the pro-Assad militia and two belonged to Hezbollah, the Times of Israel reported.

Kuntar, who served 29 years in Israeli prison, was responsible for the death of four Israelis, including a 4-year-old girl and her father in a 1979 attack in Nahariya. He is suspected of planning multiple attacks against Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights.

The Israel Defense Forces has not confirmed the attack.

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