JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel killed seven militants in an air strike on the Syrian-held Golan Heights, preventing a “grave incident”, Israel Radio said on Thursday without citing sources.

The Israeli military confirmed carrying out an air strike overnight, saying it had targeted “several armed terror operatives in the southern Syrian Golan Heights” overnight. The military’s statement did not elaborate on any casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitoring group, said early on Thursday that clashes continued between the Syrian army and Islamic State militants in that area. There was no immediate Syrian government response to the Israeli statements.

The Israeli military said that, after the air strike, “explosive belts and an AK-47 assault rifle were found in the area”. The statement did not specify how they had been found.