Israeli soldiers detained BBC Arabic special correspondent Feras Kilani — a British citizen — and six of his colleagues in southern Syria on May 9, and allegedly subjected the group to searches, interrogation, and threats after they filmed near Israeli positions in a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone near the town of Quneitra, the network alleged Thursday.

There was no immediate response from the IDF to the allegations.

The team had been reporting from areas close to the Golan Heights to document the Israeli military’s recent operations inside Syrian territory.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries. Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

The BBC crew, which included two Iraqi staff members and four Syrians, among them freelancers and a cameraman, was reportedly filming near a UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) post when a UN official informed them that Israeli forces had asked about their identities and were told that they were affiliated with the BBC.

As the journalists continued toward Quneitra, Kilani said they encountered an unguarded checkpoint........

© The Times of Israel