IDF calls troops to Golan as rebels force Syrian army from border province

Following a situational assessment on the topic of the war in Syria, the IDF will call up additional soldiers for defensive missions in the Golan Heights, adjacent to the Israel-Syria border, the military announced on both Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, the military completed a General Staff exercise in the northern Jordan Valley and the southern Golan Heights. 

During the exercise, General Staff readiness was drilled by the Operations Directorate, by both air and land, to assess response time and reaction to an emerging incident in real time. 

The exercise involved soldiers from different training programs and squadrons, some of whom remained in the Golan Heights area to reinforce defensive missions along the Syrian Border, the military noted. 

The war in Syria

The Syrian army began retreating from the Quneitra province bordering Israel on Saturday, Israeli state broadcaster KAN News reported, citing Syrian opposition sources. 

Two rebels and a Syrian officer confirmed to Reuters that rebels took over the city of Quneitra in the governate of Quneitra in the Syrian Golan. 

Earlier on Saturday, the Syrian army withdrew from Daraa and Suwayda in southwestern Syria. 

Along with the Syrian army's retreat, several members of pro-Iranian militias began to withdraw from Syria towards the direction of Iraq, an Iraqi security source told Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath.

Iranian-backed militias retreat to Iraq

Al-Hadath noted that the source said that hundreds of foreign fighters belonging to Iranian-backed militias from Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan are retreating to Al-Qa'im, an Iraqi border town. 

Dozens of Syrian troops entered Iraq at the Al-Qa'im border crossing in coordination with Iraqi forces, local officials and security sources told Reuters.