IDF credited with saving Irish troops from jihadists on Golan
IDF forces played a crucial role in helping Irish soldiers rescue UN troops from the clutches of Syrian jihadists in a fierce clash on the border with Israel last week.
Senior military sources said that Irish soldiers would have been killed or taken captive if it weren’t for action taken by the IDF on August 30 during a mission to evacuate dozens of Filipino soldiers who were surrounded by a larger force of militants, the Irish Independent reported on Sunday.
Israel reportedly guided the Irish soldiers in their charge to save the trapped members of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, helping them to steer away from concentrations of militant units who would have been able to outgun the Irish force. There were also unconfirmed reports that the IDF fired directly at militant positions during the operation.
Under cover of darkness, 40 Filipino peacekeepers who were surrounded and came under fire by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights made their overnight daring escape at the end of August. Forty-four Fijian soldiers remained in the hands of the insurgents.
After coming under rebel attack at the end of last month, the group of Filipino peacekeepers was successfully escorted out of UN encampment in Breiqa by Irish and Filipino forces on board armored vehicles.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-credited-with-saving-irish-troops-from-jihadists-on-golan/
