Alwaght- Syrian army has reportedly shot down Israeli F-16 jets after the warplanes raided positions inside the Arab country's territory.
Syrian state TV cited a Syrian military official as saying that Syrian aerial defense had responded to Israeli “aggression” against an army base in central Syria.
The official said more than one Israeli aircraft had been hit.
‘One pilot in serious condition’
The Israeli military claimed that it had attacked positions inside Syrian territory after it intercepted a drone launched from Syria on Saturday.
The unmanned aircraft, which was launched from a Syrian base in the Homs desert, was identified approaching Israeli airspace by the IDF around 4am, setting off alarms across Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley. Once entering Israel it was intercepted by an Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter near the town of Beit She’an, Jerusalem Post reported.
Tel Aviv regime's army said the aircraft was targeting a "drone launch site deep inside Syrian territory in a complicated surgical strike that heavy anti-aircraft missile fire was launched by the Syrians against the Israeli jets," the Israeli media reported.
“During the Air Force operation, anti-aircraft missiles were fired at the aircraft and the pilots of one of the planes ejected themselves. The pilots fell inside Israel and were evacuated to hospital,” the army said.
Israeli Regime's security forces walk next to the remains of F-16 Jet near Harduf village, February 10, 2018. Reuters
The regime's army later said that one of the pilots was severely wounded while the other one was slightly injured.
Meanwhile, Syrian media reported later on Saturday that explosions were heard near the capital, Damascus, as the Syrian air defense responded to “new Israeli aggression.”
Over the past years, Israel has frequently attacked targets in Syria, often claiming that it hit positions or convoys belonging to Iran. This is while Iran has no military presence in Syrian territory, only offering advisory military assistance to the Syrian government fighting an all-out foreign-sponsored militancy.
