The Israel Defense Forces have shot down a Syrian warplane that entered into Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights on Tuesday afternoon.
The IDF announced the incident in a tweet saying, “Two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated about 1 mile into Israeli airspace. The IDF monitored the fighter jet, which was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles.”
They also explained how they had been monitoring an “increase in the internal fighting in Syria and the Syrian Air Force’s activity”, saying that the IDF is on “high alert” and will continue to act if Syrian warplanes violate the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.
Two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated about 1 mile into Israeli airspace. The IDF monitored the fighter jet, which was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles. pic.twitter.com/owL4Pm7zER
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 24, 2018
The IDF would not comment on how the Syrian plane was able to penetrate two kilometres into Israeli airspace before being shot down. It was likely to ensure that the plane was not a Russian aircraft, the Times of Israel suggests.
According to Sky News Arabia, the plane crashed inside southwest Syria, in the Yarmouk Basin, an area still under the control of the Islamic State terrorist group. It was not immediately clear if the pilots ejected before the fighter jet was shot down or what their condition was.
The official Syrian news outlet SANA confirmed that Israel had shot at one of its fighter jet.
