Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet with surface-to-air missiles on Tuesday after the plane infiltrated its airspace, the military said, in a rare incident that could provoke tensions.
Israel signalled that the plane’s infiltration may have been the result of internal fighting in Syria’s civil war, but stressed it will enforce the ceasefire lines between the two countries.
“A short while ago, two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated into Israeli airspace,” the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement.
“The IDF monitored the advance of the fighter jet, which infiltrated about two kilometres (1.25 miles) into Israeli airspace. It was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles.”
A Syrian military source confirmed that Israel had fired at one of its warplanes but said the fighter jet had been carrying out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory.
Israel “targeted one of our warplanes... In Syrian airspace,” the source said, cited by state news agency SANA.