Israel claims to have shot down Syrian fighter jet

The Israeli military says it has shot down a Syrian aircraft that infiltrated its airspace over the Golan Heights. The military wouldn’t say what type of aircraft was downed and says the circumstances of the incident are “unclear,” but one military official, speaking on Army radio, said it was a Russian-made MiG fighter jet. Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines of Syria’s civil war raging across the border, but Israeli leaders appear increasingly nervous about the possibility of al-Qaida-linked fighters occupying the Golan’s high ground over northern Israel.

We will not allow element, whether it is a terror group or a state, to threaten our security and breach our sovereignty. We are committed first and foremost to ensure the security of the Israel’s citizens and we will use all means at our disposal to do so.

Israel Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon

The Syria plane’s crew managed to abandon the plane in time and landed in Syrian territory. It was the first such incident since the war with Lebanon in 1982. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed the strategic area in a move that has never been internationally recognized.

Middle East golan heights