Thirteen people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Syria on Friday, Syrian state media reported, with Damascus denouncing a “criminal attack” in a village where Israel said its forces came under fire during an operation to arrest militants.

The Israeli military said six soldiers were wounded – three seriously – after coming under militant fire during the raid in the village of Beit Jinn.

The casualty toll points to one of the deadliest Israeli operations since President Bashar al-Assad was toppled a year ago. Israel frequently bombed Syria under Assad and escalated its military activities after his removal, saying its goals included keeping militants away from the frontier.

The Israeli military said troops had launched an operation to detain suspects from Jama'a Islamiya, a Leba

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