An Israeli soldier was killed by Hezbollah fighters near the northern Israeli town of Metullah on 6 October. Israeli military sources announced that the soldier was killed by cross-border fire while patrolling Israel's northern border. Several masked men in Hezbollah uniforms are reported to have approached the border fence and opened fire. Israeli forces returned fire, damaging a UN vehicle and a number of cars, but did not injure anybody. 'Syria is responsible for what is happening here by letting the terror groups act freely,' said an Israeli military source.