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Filipino Peacekeepers Abducted By Al-Qaeda Linked Rebels
[Ynet] Over 40 Filipino forces reportedly taken captive by Islamist Syrian rebels battling with regime forces on Golan over border crossing.Syrian holy warriors fighting with the Al-Nusra Fron (Jabhat al-Nusra) have kidnapped over 40 soldiers from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights. According to report and unnamed officials, those kidnapped include soldiers of Philippine origin. The news came amid massive fighting near the Quneitra crossing -- the sole connections between Israel and Syria -- which was seized Wednesday by rebels from Syria in some of the heaviest festivities this year, rebels and residents said on Thursday, and rebels have even posted a video showing the Israeli flag from their side of the border. The video claims that the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... Battalions retook the crossing. Earlier this week, the Philippines announced they would be recalling their 331-strong peacekeeping force after a number of violent incidents. For example, last September some 21 Filipino UN peacekeepers were kidnapped by Syrian rebels, and after a week were handed safely over to Jordan. The peacekeeping mission, known as UNDOF, was established in May 1974 following intensified firing on the Israel-Syria border after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, and Syria has campaigned for decades for return of the land. For nearly four decades, the UN monitors helped enforce a stable truce between Israel and Syria. But in recent months, the Golan Heights has increasingly become a battlefield in the more than three-year-old Syrian conflict. Posted by: trailing wife 2014-08-29 |
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