Israeli and Syrian forces engaged in a three hour artillery duel on the northern front this afternoon. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side. A military spokesman said the Syrians started the incident at 3:30 p.m. local time by shelling Israeli hill positions along the cease-fire line at Tel Maraii, Tel Antar, Tel el-Maal and Tel Maroun. Israeli forces returned the fire, something they hadn’t done when the Syrians opened fire last week. The shooting ended at 6:15 p.m.
The artillery clash ended two days of quiet on the Syrian front. It had been reported earlier that tension had eased somewhat and that roads on the Golan Heights were reopened to unrestricted civilian traffic today for the first time in a week. But Israeli forces remained on full alert. Roads in the Syrian enclave, the northern section of the Golan Heights captured by Israeli in the Yom Kippur War, were still closed to all but military traffic.
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