A Syrian warplane was shot down by Israel as it crossed into their airspace, the Israeli military says.
Two surface-to-air missiles were fired at typically the Sukhoi fighter jet, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweeted.
According to Israeli reports, it happened over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Unconfirmed reports say the fact that a pilot was killed.
Syrian media agency Sana said Israel had targeted one of its jets over Syrian airspace but did not say the plane was hit.
The agency quoted some sort of military source as saying the aircraft was conducting raids against “armed terrorist groups” close to the southern Yarmouk Valley.
Syria consistently describes rebel groups as terrorists.
Israel’s Haaretz news website said residents within northern Israel saw interceptor missiles dismissed and heard explosions.
Flames and fumes were also later seen rising coming from the area of the fence among Syria plus the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, AFP news agency reports.
In some sort of statement, the IDF said it was initially on “high alert” following “an increase in the internal fighting in Syria” and increased activity by Syria’s naval pilot in typically the region.
“The IDF monitored the advance of the fighter jet, which infiltrated about two kilometers (1.25 miles) into Israeli airspace. It was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles.”
It is reportedly the very first time Israel has shot down some sort of manned Syrian aircraft since 2014.
The incident comes just a day following Israel used its David’s Sling rocket defense system – used against medium-range missiles – for the first period.
The system was activated “in response to the threat” coming from two Syrian surface-to-surface missiles approaching Israeli territory, an army statement said.
On Monday, the Syrian government condemned the evacuation by Israel over the weekend of the White Helmets civil defense group from a war zoom in the south of the state.
Damascus described the move as some sort of “criminal operation” by “Israel and its tools”.
Some 422 volunteers and family members were taken to be able to Jordan via the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
It was feared they will possibly be persecuted by advancing government forces inside southern Syria.
