Israel says it captured members of a second Iranian cell in Syria

The Israeli army announced Monday that it had once again captured individuals it claims belong to an Iranian cell during a raid in southern Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the "arrest of two brothers" by an Israeli patrol.

Soldiers "completed an operation overnight to arrest a cell of agents operated by the Iranian Qods Force in the Tel Qudna region in southern Syria," according to a brief military statement. The Israeli army claims they represented "a threat in the region."

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an Israeli patrol "conducted searches targeting several houses, arresting two brothers" in a village in the Quneitra countryside on the Golan Heights.

On July 2, the Syrian authorities reported that three people were captured in the village of al-Bassali in the Quneitra region. The Israeli army said it had "arrested several terrorists" and seized "several weapons and grenades."

Since the fall in December of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran, the Israeli authorities and army have repeatedly stated that they will not tolerate the establishment of any "threat" to its security in southern Syria.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated at the end of June that his country was "interested" in normalizing its relations with Syria, noting, however, that Israel had no intention of returning the part of the Syrian Golan it conquered in 1967 and annexed in 1981.

Israeli forces, who have been deployed since December in the demilitarized zone (under U.N. control) on this plateau, regularly conduct raids in southern Syria.