JERUSALEM (JTA) — The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv issued a security warning advising U.S. citizens to defer travel to the Golan Heights because of the civil war in Syria.

Dated June 6 but e-mailed Monday to U.S. citizens in Israel, the advisory was issued due to “fighting between Syrian opposition forces and the Syrian military in the central portion of the Disengagement Zone in the Golan Heights near the Syrian town of Qunaitra.”

“U.S. citizens are advised to defer non-essential travel to and within the Golan Heights and to exercise an extra measure of caution,” it said.

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