The Israel Defense Forces killed four members of a Daesh-affiliated group in southern Syria on Sunday morning, following a clash near the border, the army said.
No Israeli soldiers were injured in the exchange, the army added.
Soldiers from the Golani Brigade's reconnaissance unit had crossed the security fence with Syria, while remaining inside Israeli territory, when they came under fire from small arms fire, an IDF spokesperson said.
They returned fire, but soon came under attack from mortar shells.
In response, the Israeli Air Force targeted a truck "that had some sort of machine gun on top of it" and killed the four extremists who were riding in it.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m., the army said.
According to the IDF, the four men were members of the Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade, a group in Syria that is connected with Daesh.
"It was a short exchange, but it was productive," army spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.
The Syrian Golan has been the site of intense fighting in recent years between Assad regime forces and the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, though the front on the border with Israel has quieted in recent months after seeing intense bouts of violence.
Israeli officials fear Hezbollah and Iran's al-Quds Force are aiming at using the area to open a new front against Israel in any future conflict.
Since March 2011, when the war broke out, dozens of mortars have landed in Israeli territory as a result of spillover fighting. The IDF often responds to fire that crosses into Israel by striking Syrian army posts.
Israel maintains a policy of holding Damascus responsible for all fire from Syria into Israel regardless of the source.
By Judah Ari Gross
