Israel intercepts and shoots down Syrian warplane over contested Golan Heights

RT
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 17:31 UTC

© Sputnik

Israel has fired interceptor missiles at a Syrian Sukhoi warplane, the IDF said in a statement, adding that the aircraft had penetrated Israeli-controlled airspace.

"Two Patriot missiles were launched at a Sukhoi fighter plane. The plane was under [Israeli] surveillance, it penetrated about two kilometers into Israeli territory and was intercepted," the Israel Defense Forces wrote on Twitter.

Israeli Army Radio stated that the plane was shot down over the Golan Heights, but may have crashed on the Syrian-held side of the frontier, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, local residents in northern Israel told Haaretz that they saw interceptor missiles being fired from the area of Safed city.

According to Syrian state news agency Sana, the aircraft was conducting raids in Syrian airspace when it was intercepted by Israeli forces. "The Israeli enemy confirms its support for the armed terrorist groups and targets one of our warplanes, which was striking their groups in the area of Saida on the edge of the Yarmouk Valley in Syrian airspace," Sana reported, citing an unnamed military source.

Earlier in July, Israel struck Syrian Army positions near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, in what the IDF called a retaliation for an earlier drone infiltration. Noting that the Israeli military is prepared for many different scenarios, the army stressed that it holds the Syrian government "accountable for the actions carried out in its territory and warns it from further action against Israeli forces."

Comment: The IDF later announced they were 'certain' that the jet was not a Russian jet:

The Israeli army has been in regular contact with Moscow, he stressed, adding that previously the Israeli army hesitated when targeting incoming planes out of concerns they might belong to the Russian Air Force.

The IDF spokesman said that the plane which was targeted may be a Sukhoi Su-22 or Su-24. These supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft were developed by the Soviet Union. Both types have been in service with the Syrian Air Force.

Conricus said that the IDF increased air force activity in southwestern Syria on Tuesday morning. "We have passed a number of messages, in a number of languages, in order to ensure that no-one violates Israeli air space," he added.

A Syrian military source also told RIA Novosti that one of the pilots died after ejecting and the fate of the other pilot is not yet known.

This is clearly another case of unprovoked Israeli aggression against Syria. The Golan Heights is not recognized as part of Israel, yet Tel Aviv continues to insist it is their territory as if the rest of the world does not exist. They clearly live in another reality.