Rockets from Syria Hit Golan Heights as Tensions Escalate on Israel-Syria Border

Tensions escalated along Israel’s northern border Tuesday after at least two rockets fired from Syria struck the Israeli-controlled section of the Golan Heights and Israel launched a retaliatory strike towards the suspected launching sites in Syria, the New York Times reports.

The Israeli army spokesman’s office reported that no one was injured on the Israeli side, but the military ordered the evacuation of an Israeli ski area at Mount Hermon and the police briefly closed some roads in the area. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack or information about casualties on the Syrian side.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israel had bombed bases of the Syrian army.

The exchange of fire came a little more than a week after a suspected Israeli airstrike on a convoy in the Syrian portion of the Golan Heights that was attributed to Israel. The attack killed an Iranian general and five Hezbollah fighters, including the son of the group’s slain military commander, Imad Mughniyeh.

“That rare, direct confrontation between Israel and its enemies on Syrian soil immediately raised the stakes along the decades-old cease-fire line between Israel and Syria. It put the Israeli army on high alert in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.” A top Iranian commander had threatened retaliation and warned Israel to prepare for a “shattering thunderbolt,” the New York Times reports.

Israel has conducted several airstrikes on Syria since 2011, mostly destroying weaponry believed to be destined for Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

Battles Intensify Outside Syria’s Kobani]3 After Kurds Declare Victory Over Islamic State

[Kurdish forces battled Islamic State fighters outside Kobani on Tuesday, a day after Kurdish fighters backed by U.S. airstrikes ousted Islamic State militants from the Syrian border town of Kobani after a four-month battle, Reuters reports.

According to the Syrian Observatory for human Rights, clashes ensued to the southeast and southwest of the strategic town.

The YPG said on Monday that Kobani had been completely liberated from the Islamic State, using the Arabic acronym Daesh for the Islamic State group.

“The defeat of Daesh in Kobani will be the beginning of the end for the group,” a statement on its website said.

“Daesh gambled on Kobani and lost. Their defenses have collapsed and its fighters have fled,” senior Kurdish official Idriss Nassan told the AP.

The Pentagon said on Monday that the fight for Kobani was not yet over. The setback for the Islamic State in the town did not mean “anyone is declaring mission accomplished” in the international campaign against the group, said a senior State Department official on Tuesday.

“About 90 percent of the town has been retaken and ISIL, whether on order or the fact that they are just breaking ranks, are withdrawing from the town,” the official said.

Kobani has been the focus of intense U.S.-led airstrikes against the Islamic State since September when the group seized control over nearly half of Kobani and forced tens of thousands to flee to neighboring Turkey. Islamic State supports deny the claim that it had been ousted from the town.

Syria Raises Fuel Prices to Quell Black Market and Soothe Unrest

“Syria raised fuel prices, cutting back on lavish subsidies, to quell a thriving black market that has led to anti-corruption protests in areas of strong government support,” Reuters reports.

Protesters belonging to Assad’s minority Alawite sect in the port city of Latakia claim war profiteers and businessmen are reselling subsided fuel at high prices in a black market.

“The price of diesel used for public transport and heating went up 10 days ago to 125 pounds (58 cents) from 80 pounds per liter in the biggest single hike since the 2011 crisis started.”

“The government was once known for maintaining some of the lowest prices for bread and fuel in the region,” Reuters reports.

The Syrian government has had to cut down subsidies for citizens for goods ranging from water to heating oil over the last six months. Analysts quoted by the Washington Post said, “Damascus has had to shift priorities to pay for the war effort.”

Additionally, Syria is developing a war economy as individuals and groups seek to exploit the opportunities of the conflict.

“Instead of the oil sector being a major source of financing from the treasury, it has now become a heavy burden,” Oil Minister Suleiman al-Abbas told state television.

Recommended Reads:

• Daily Beast Exclusive: Obama Cuts Off Syrian Rebels’ Cash
• Wall Street Journal: Tensions Escalate on Israel-Syria Border
• New York Times: Angelina Jolie on the Syrians and Iraqis Who Can’t Go Home
• Newsweek: Number of Foreign Fighters in Iraq and Syria Reach All Time High
• NPR: Syrian Rebels Want to Fight Assad, But Now They’ll Face ISIS
• NPR: How a Single Town in Syria Became A Symbol of the War Against ISIS