DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Two Syrian shepherds were exchanged for a Zionist woman under a prisoner exchange deal on Thursday between the occupying regime and Syria mediated by Russia.
The regime’s military said the two had been arrested "a few weeks” ago, after they allegedly moved into the Golan Heights occupied by the Zionist regime.
The army "returned [the] two shepherds to [the International Committee of the] Red Cross representatives through the Quneitra Crossing, in accordance with an Israeli directive,” it said in a statement.
The military gave no further details on the identity of the men, but Damascus’ SANA news agency confirmed the swap, identifying the Syrian prisoners as Mohamed Hussein and Tarek al-Obeidan.
Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu later confirmed the exchange was mediated by Russia, which enjoys close ties with the Syrian government and stations soldiers in the country.
Earlier this week, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the Zionist woman accidentally entered Syria’s Quneitra region after crossing from the occupied Golan Heights.
SANA had earlier said the two shepherds were released following a deal conducted through "Russian mediation”.
The Zionist regime seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.
The two sides remain technically at war.
The occupying regime routinely carries out air strikes in Syria.