Israel: Troops come under fire from Syrian side By Salma Abdelaziz, CNN March 24, 2013 -- Updated 1115 GMT (1915 HKT) Fighting in the area has intensified in recent days as rebels backed by Nusra Front fighters gain territory. NEW: Rebels were clashing with the Syrian army at the time, the LCC says Israel blames the Syrian military (CNN) -- The Israeli military says its troops came under fire Sunday in the Golan Heights from the Syrian side -- and soldiers returned fire. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon blamed the Syrian military for the incident. "We view very harshly the fire opened last night and this morning, from the direction of Syria on an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) force in Israeli territory," Yaalon said. We will not allow the Syrian army or any other factor to violate Israeli's sovereignty by firing into our territory. But Syria's opposition network, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, said rebels were clashing with the Syrian army near the Golan Heights border at the time. The radical Islamist al-Nusra Front has emerged as one of the most effective groups in the Syrian resistance, drawing on foreign fighters with combat experience in Iraq and elsewhere. In December, the U.S. State Department moved to blacklist the rebel group as a foreign terror organization linked to al Qaeda in Iraq.