Israeli forces kill at least 13 in Syria, officials say

Israeli forces raided a Syrian village and opened fire when they were confronted by residents Friday, killing at least 13 people, Syrian officials said, in the deadliest Israeli attack since troops seized a swath of southern Syria a year ago.

- By ABDULRAHMAN SHAHEEN

OMAR ALBAM Associated Press

THE BODY of a victim of the Israeli raid in Beit Jin, Syria, is taken to a hospital.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the attack a “horrific massacre” and said women and children were among those killed.

The Syrian state news agency SANA said Israeli forces entered the village of Beit Jin aiming to seize local men and opened heavy fire after being confronted by residents. Dozens of families fled the area.

Israel said Friday that it conducted an operation to apprehend suspects from the Jamaa Islamiya militant group in Beit Jin who were planning improvised-bomb and rocket attacks into Israel. It said that other militants opened fire at the troops, injuring six, and that troops returned fire, including bringing in air support. It said the operation had concluded, all of the suspects were apprehended and a number of militants were killed.

An official in the village, Walid Okasha, told the Associated Press that those killed were civilians. Among the dead were a man, his wife, their two children and his brother as well as another man who had gotten married the day before.