United Nations soldiers and al-Nusra fought it out on Saturday in the Golan Heights on the Syrian-Israeli occupied frontier.
On Wednesday al-Nusra, the former al-Qaeda affiliate that merged with ISIS earlier this year, overran the Quneitra crossing on the border and seized 44 Fijian UN soldiers.
Nusra also surrounded nearby Rwihana and Breiqa encampments where dozens of United Nations soldiers are trapped. The gun battle on Saturday erupted after al-Nusra surrounded the Rwihana camp and ordered the soldiers to surrender.
35 Filipino soldiers were pulled out of the Breiqa encampment on Saturday morning with the assistance of Irish UN peacekeepers, according to a report filed with the Associated Press.
The veracity of reports coming out of the area are suspect because they are relayed by activists associated with Rami Abdurrahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Abdurrahman is connected to Gulf monarchies funding mercenaries trying to overthrow the al-Assad government in Damascus.
According to the AP, however, the Philippines’ Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin gave a similar account of the situation in the Golan Heights.
ISIS and al-Nusra are known for executing and beheading prisoners.
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