Israeli aircraft struck and killed "Islamic State"-linked gunmen on Sunday after they fired mortars and shot at troops patrolling along the occupied Golan Heights, the military said.
Israel has often responded to errant fire from the Syrian civil war, but exchanges of fire with gunmen in the Golan Heights have been rare since the fighting began more than five years ago.
The militants fired at the Israeli soldiers, who were on the Israeli-controlled territory, from a vehicle driving along the Syrian side of the Golan, said the Israeli military spokesperson.
The troops then fired back before Israeli aircraft struck. "The air force intervened, targeting the vehicle that the gunmen were in and hit and struck the vehicle, killing what seems as four terrorists," said the spokesperson.
The militants are thought to be from the IS-affiliated "Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade".
Previous Israeli attacks deeper in Syria have mainly targeted supply routes and arms depots of Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, whose fighters support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army.
There was no immediate response from the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade.
The United States designated the group "a terrorist entity" in June for its activities and links to IS.
The group first gained attention when they abducted 21 UN peacekeepers from the Philippines in a demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-held part of the Golan Heights. They released them in March 2013.
