Israeli Air Force kills 7 militants in strike at Syrian border

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Forces said they killed seven Islamic State militants in an attack early Thursday in Syria's Golan Heights area.

IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said Israeli troops attacked the militants as they approached the Israeli-Syria border.

Manelis said an Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked the squad of seven and their bodies were found Thursday. He added several vests, weapons and grenades were found around them.

The strike came as Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman set three conditions for the country to cease operations in Syria.

First, he said, "every tiny detail" of the Separation of Forces Agreement of 1974 be met. Second, Syria "must not act as Iran's forward base" from which to fight Israel, and third, Syria can't become a "primary transfer point" for smuggling weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"The moment all three of these conditions are met, we have no reason to interfere or act in Syria," he said. "The moment they are not met, we will act according to the State of Israel's security interests."