London, Mar 7 : Syrian rebels have detained around 20 United Nations peacekeepers in a Syrian-controlled area of the disputed Golan Heights, claiming that the UN, the US and President Bashar Al Assad are all "agents of Israel".

The detainees are reported to be part of a force that monitors a ceasefire between Israel and Syrian troops in the Golan Heights, reports the Telegraph.

A video posted online by Syrian activists showed a group of armed rebels standing around at least three white UN vehicles, allegedly in the Syrian village of Jamleh, bordering Israel.

In the video, a man identified as Abu Qaed al-Faleh - spokesman for the Martyrs of Yarmouk Brigades - announces that the group will hold the peacekeepers until Syrian President Bashar Assad''s forces withdraw from Jamleh.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, quoted rebels as saying that the peacekeepers, all Filipinos, would not be released until regime forces withdraw from Jamleh.

Russia''s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the UN Security Council president, demanded the "unconditional and immediate release of all the detained UN peacekeepers". (ANI)