(VOVworld) - The Israeli air force hit Syrian government forces after mortar fire from its war-wracked neighbor struck the Israeli-held zone of the Golan Heights on Sunday, the military said.

Smoke rises after attacks (Photo: EPA/ VNA)

Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said the Israel Defence Forces would continue to act to safeguard Israel. Israel has sought to avoid being drawn into Syria's complex war which is now in its sixth year, but it has attacked Syrian military targets when fire from the conflict has spilt over the border. Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers of the Golan Heights from Syria in the war of 1967 and later annexed it in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.