Six Israeli soldiers were wounded, including three seriously, after coming under fire by gunmen during an arrest operation in southern Syria early Friday morning, the military said.

The operation came as Israel is reportedly preparing for the possibility of attacks from Syria, either from Syrian troops or terror operatives.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, shortly before 3 a.m., soldiers of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade set out to the Syrian village of Beit Jinn — located some seven kilometers (4.3 miles) east of Israel’s border — to detain two members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization, acting on intelligence information collected in recent weeks indicating that they were planning attacks on Israel.

The pair are brothers, with one considered by the IDF to be the “main” suspect. The military said that the pair had previously launched rockets at Israel.

Israeli troops arrested the two brothers while they were in their beds at home. As troops began leaving with the two suspects, they came under fire from unknown assailants, according to the IDF.

The military said the troops returned fire, and the Israeli Air Force also provided support with strikes from helicopters and drones. Fighter jets also conducted several strikes on predetermined targets, the IDF said.

According to Syrian media, at least 13 people were killed by the Israeli strikes. The military said that it had killed several gunmen in the fighting, without specifying a........

© The Times of Israel