Great Rift Valley

Two mortar rounds fired from Syria struck open areas of the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights on April 28, an Israeli security source said.

An al-Qaeda-backed militant group that seized 45 U.N. peacekeepers two weeks ago on the Golan Heights has posted a video in which the hostages, from the South Pacific nation of Fiji, say they expect to be released soon.

A firefight erupted on Aug. 30 between a group of Philippine peacekeepers trapped in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Islamist militants who were surrounding their position, the defense chief of the Philippines said.