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Syria shot down Israeli fighter plane

F-16.Photo: Henrik Skolt / NTB scanpix

Syria shot down Israeli fighter plane

An Israeli fighter plane has been shot down by Syrian air forces and has crashed in northern Israel. The two pilots managed to eject and survived, Israeli media reports.

 

The Israeli army confirms the incident and announces that the two pilots have been sent to hospital, writes Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

According to the Israeli online newspaper Ynet, refering to military sources, the state of one of the pilots is critical.

Answer to drone attacks

The Israeli army confirms that the F-16 plane attacked targets in Syria when it was hit by Syrian air defense. The attack was according to them an answer to a Syrian drone being sent across the border of Israel. The Drone was Iranian according to them.

– We identified an Iranian drone who took off from Syrian territory. The drone was identified by the Israeli Air Force systems and was shot down by one of our Apache helicopters. The Iranian Drone fell down our territory and is now in Israeli possession, says Brigadier General in the Israeli Army, Ronen Manelis.

– It was decided to attack the trailer the Iranians used to launch the Drone. This was a surgical attack far inside Syria, and the target was destroyed, he adds.

Another attack

The Syrian news agency Sana a few hours later reported that Israeli aircraft had attacked targets in Syria once more, this time near the Syrian capital Damascus. They claim that more than one aircraft was hit.

It is not known what was the target of this attack, but Syrian air defense responded according to the notice to “Israeli aggression”.

In recent years, Israel has carried out a series of air attacks against targets in Syria, aimed primarily at the Lebanese Hezbollah militia who fight on President Bashar al-Assad’s side in the ensuing war. Hezbollah is supported by Iran.

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today.