The Israeli military says the Syrian plane it shot down departed from the Syrian T4 air base, which Israel is believed to have attacked earlier this year, AP reported.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says Tuesday that the plane flew toward Israel at "relatively high speed" before breaching the country's airspace. He said it was unknown if the plane deliberately crossed into Israel nor what happened to its pilot. The plane crashed in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, he said.
He said the increased activity near Israel's frontier with Syria put the military on "elevated alert" and prompted Israel to issue a number of warnings through different channels to ensure a 1974 agreement which sets out a demilitarized zone along the shared Syria-Israel frontier would not be violated
Regime-run media said hours before that the regime forces had reached the frontier with Golan Heights after capturing territory from rebels and Islamic State militants.
Al-Ikhbariya TV on Tuesday broadcast footage from the fence demarcating the U.N. buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces inside the Golan Heights.
The camera showed an Israeli observation post 400 meters (440 yards) away.
It is the first time regime forces have taken up positions along the frontier since an uprising against Bashar Assad swept through the country in 2011. Islamic State militants later seized territory from rebels along the frontier region.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.