UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations says four peacekeepers have been detained by armed men while patrolling on the Golan Heights in an area separating Syria and Israel.

Mr Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, said the four peacekeepers, all from the Philippines, were taken by an unidentified armed group near Al Jamlah on Tuesday.

He said "efforts are underway to secure their release now."

The peacekeepers are from a UN mission that has monitored a ceasefire line between Israel and Syria for nearly four decades.