Israel Shot Down Syrian Aircraft
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet over the Golan Heights Tuesday, the army said, claiming that it had crossed the cease-fire line into the Israeli-occupied sector.
It was the most serious incident to take place on the strategic plateau since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
Army radio said it was apparently a MiG-21 fighter jet which was shot down by a surface-to-air Patriot missile, with the wreckage landing on the Syrian-controlled side of the plateau, AFP reported.
The downing came just three weeks after Israel shot down a drone over the Golan as heavy fighting raged on the Syrian side, most of which has been seized by rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad.
The Syrian government has been hitting back with frequent air strikes in a bid to retake control of the plateau. Some have been close to Israeli positions.
Since the uprising erupted more than three years ago, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of rockets and mortar rounds hitting the Israeli side, most of them stray, prompting occasional retaliatory fire.
