Jihadist group gains ground on Israel’s doorstep

The Golan Heights were seized from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War
The Golan Heights were seized from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War
JALAA MAREY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Jihadists affiliated to Islamic State are fighting for a strip of Syrian territory close to Israel’s strategic Golan Heights, raising fears that it could provide a base for cross-border raids.

The Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, which has pledged allegiance to Isis, has been fighting western-backed rebel groups in an area close to the borders of Jordan and Israel for the past five weeks. It is believed that about 900 militants have taken many villages and the towns of al-Shajarah and Jamlah, with a combined population of 10,000, in the Quneitra region.

Fears are growing among the Israeli and Jordanian border forces. “It is an issue. Jordan is concerned, everyone is,” said a western source who has worked in southern Syria. “The Jordanians have carried out a