IDF says Syria fired missiles at its jets, but denies claim aircraft was downed
IDF issues rare response to foreign report, saying Syrian missile were nowhere near vicinity of Israeli aircraft.
By REUTERS, YAAKOV LAPPIN, NOAM AMIR/MAARIVUpdated: SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 11:09IAF fighter jet during the Red Flag joint exercise at Nellis air force base in Nevada (photo credit: COURTESY IDF SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)
The Syrian army claimed on Tuesday it had shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone after an Israeli attack on a regime position in southern Syria, state media reported.Syrian news agency SANA reported that President Bashar Assad's forces shot down the Israeli aircraft in Syria after the IAF struck in the southern Quneitra countryside in response to a mortar exploding in the Golan Heights. The projectile's landing in the Golan appeared to be spillover fire from fighting in Syria.In a rare response to a foreign report, the IDF on Tuesday denied that any of its aircraft had been downed, but said Syrian forces had fired two surface-to-air missiles after the Israeli strike Monday night on a Syrian position.However, the military said the missiles were nowhere near the vicinity of the Israel aircraft. The IDF added that all the Israeli jets had returned to base.On Monday evening, Syrian fire crossed into the northern Golan Heights as a nationwide ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia came into effect in the embattled country.In response, the Israeli air force attacked cannons belonging to the Syrian regime on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.The IDF considers the Syrian regime responsible for every action on its territory and will not suffer any attempt to hurt the sovereignty of the State of Israel and its residents safety, the army stated.Eli Malka, head of the Golan Regional Council responded to Monday night's fire emanating from Syria saying, "There is no difference between spillover fire and intentional fire, a bomb is a bomb and poses a risk to human life.""It is the responsibility of the Minister of Defense and the IDF to convey a clear message to all parties on the other side of the border that all shots fired in the Golan will be treated as firing on Israel and the IDF will respond by destructing the source of the fire," Malka added.