Israeli jets killed seven people near the border with Syria, the military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said on Thursday.

“We saw seven armed suspects who were obviously terrorists,” Conricus said after the incident.

After firing on the suspects, the military searched the area and found seven bodies, along with five AK-47 assault rifles, explosive belts and grenades.

“The armed men may have been trying to infiltrate into Israel.

Given the Syrian government’s campaign to clear militants from the country’s south, “our assessment is that these terrorists belonged to ISIS (Islamic State),” Conricus said

Israel is watching developments in neighbouring Syria with concern.

It wants to make sure that a buffer zone put in place between the two countries in 1974, after a regional conflict, is respected as the Syrian forces advance.