Syria shoots down Israeli jet

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Headlines Saturday, March 18th, 2017

Syria says its Israeli fighter jets breached country’s air space

yria’s army high command said in a statement on Friday Israeli jets breached the country’s air space early in the morning and attacked a military target near Palmyra in what it described as an act of aggression that aided Islamic State.

It said its air defences shot down one of the Israeli jets over what it called “occupied ground” and damaged another.

Earlier, Israel’s army confirmed that it intercepted one of several anti-aircraft missiles that were launched at its air force as it was bombing “targets” in Syria.

As a result, sirens were heard in Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank. The blasts were heard as far as Jerusalem, tens of kilometers away. No injuries or damage were reported.

A military spokesperson said in a statement that one anti-aircraft missile was intercepted by its Arrow anti-missile system.

“Overnight, IAF (Israel Air Force) aircrafts targeted several targets in Syria. Several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria following the mission and IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Aerial Defense Systems intercepted one of the missiles,” the statement read.

“At no point was the safety of Israeli civilians or the IAF aircraft compromised,” the statement added.

The statement was a rare confirmation of Israel’s airstrikes in Syria, where Israel bombs weapons shipments to Hezbollah, a Lebanese group linked to Iran that fights alongside the Syrian army.

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