An Israeli drone was downed in Syrian territory on Monday, the Israeli military said, confirming an earlier report in the Syrian and Lebanese media that the unmanned vehicle was shot down by Syrian aerial defense systems.

Syria said the drone, a Skylark, was downed over Quneitra in the Syrian Golan Heights. Lebanese terror group Hezbollah posted pictures of the downed drone on its social media pages.

The Israeli military said the circumstances of the incident were being checked, but that there were no immediate suspicions that classified data could be retrieved from the device.

The “sky rider,” as it’s known in Hebrew, is a tactical surveillance drone created by Elbit Systems and operated by the IDF’s Artillery Corps. The miniature UAV can be launched by one or two people, depending on the model, and once airborne provides a live video feed to soldiers on the ground.

Monday’s incident came after days of escalating tensions between Israel and Syria, set off by an early morning Israeli raid last Friday on a Hezbollah weapons convoy near Palmyra, with Syrian air defenses firing missiles at the Israeli planes.

An Israeli army statement said “several anti-aircraft missiles” were fired following the raid, but that none hit their targets, dismissing a Syrian claim that one plane was downed and another damaged. One missile was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow missile defense battery, military officials said, in the first reported use of the advanced system.

It was the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war began six years ago.

On Sunday, an Israeli drone strike reportedly killed a member of a Syrian pro-regime militia, striking a truck driving near the town of Khan Arnabeh in the Quneitra province, on the road to Damascus.

The National Defense Force, a pro-regime militia set up in 2012, claimed the man killed was from among its ranks. It named the man as Yasser Hussien Assayed.

The reported strike came hours after Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman threatened to destroy Syrian air defense systems, after Israeli aircraft were targeted during a bombing run early Friday morning.

“The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our planes we will destroy them without the slightest hesitation,” Liberman said on Israel Radio.

Late Sunday, Syria’s ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari said Syria’s response to Friday’s strike was a “game-changer.”

Speaking on Syrian state TV, Jaafari said the military’s response was “appropriate and in line with Israel’s terrorist operation,” and that Israel “will now think a million times [before striking again],” according to a translation cited in Ynet.

“Syria’s forceful response to the Israeli attacks changed the rules of the game,” he said.

Israeli officials have warned of the possibility Hezbollah and Iran could attempt to set up a base to attack Israel near the border with the Israeli Golan Heights.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow, where he asked the Kremlin to make sure Iran does not gain a foothold in the area.

Israel has also repeatedly vowed to prevent Hezbollah from acquiring any advanced weaponry and several strikes on such convoys over the years since the Syrian civil war began in 2011 have been attributed to Israel. Jerusalem has also claimed several of the raids, including Friday’s.

“Each time we discover arms transfers from Syria to Lebanon we will act to stop them. On this there will be no compromise,” Liberman said Sunday.

“The Syrians must understand that they are held responsible for these arms transfers to Hezbollah and that if they continue to allow them then we will do what we have to do.”

Overnight Sunday-Monday, Syrian media reported that Israeli jets struck yet another Hezbollah weapons convoy near the Lebanon-Syria border. The reports were not confirmed. </s> Share On more Share On more

An Israeli fighter jet was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire on Saturday morning, following a renewed set of strikes that mark a serious escalation in the conflict.



Israel's military said the new strikes were a retaliation to an Iranian drone launched from Syria into Israel, which was intercepted.

"A combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] that was launched from Syria and infiltrated Israel," the military said on Saturday, adding that the drone had been "under surveillance until the interception".



Iran is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Israel is concerned about its growing military presence in the country.

Israeli military spokesperson Jonathan Cornicus said Iran was "responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty" in a tweet shortly after the incident.



In response the Israel Defense Forces launched strikes on Syrian aerial defense systems and Iranian targets in Syria. </s> JERUSALEM - The Israeli military shot down an Iranian drone it said infiltrated the country early Saturday before launching a "large-scale attack" on at least a dozen Iranian and Syrian targets inside Syria, in its most significant engagement since the fighting in neighboring Syria began in 2011. Responding anti-aircraft fire led to the downing of an Israeli fighter plane.

Israel said the drone infiltration was a "severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty" and warned of further action against unprecedented Iranian aggression.

The military said its planes faced massive anti-aircraft fire from Syria that forced two pilots to abandon an F-16 jet that crashed in northern Israel. One pilot was seriously wounded and the other lightly. Syrian officials reported large explosions in the center of the country and the Syrian counter fire set off warning sirens throughout northern Israel.

The exchanges marked the height of tensions along the volatile Israel-Syria frontier and Israel said Iran would be held responsible for its outcome.

Syria accuses U.S. of supporting ‘terrorism’ after air strike

"This is a serious Iranian attack on Israeli territory. Iran is dragging the region into an adventure in which it doesn't know how it will end," Israel's chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, said in a special statement. "Whoever is responsible for this incident is the one who will pay the price."

Gen. Hossein Salami, acting commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, did not acknowledge Israel's claim it shot down the drone. "We do not confirm any such news from Israel," he said. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasem called the Israeli claim "ridiculous."

The Israeli military, however, released aerial footage of the drone being tracked and then shot down by an Israeli Apache attack helicopter.

The joint operations room for the Syrian military and its allies denied the drone violated Israeli airspace, saying it was on a regular mission gathering intelligence on Islamic State militants.

Syria's Defense Ministry said in statements on its website that its air defenses responded successfully to the Israeli operation and hit more than one plane. "The Israeli enemy has once again attacked some of our military bases in the southern area and our air defenses responded and foiled the aggression," it said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman were convening the top brass at military headquarters in Tel Aviv for emergency consultations on the Sabbath to discuss further response.

Israel has mostly stayed out of the prolonged fighting in Syria, wary of being drawn into a war in which nearly all the parties are hostile toward it. It has recently been warning of the increased Iranian presence along its border, but military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Saturday's incident marked the most "blatant and severe violation of Israeli sovereignty" yet.

He said Israel has no interest in further escalation but that it would "extract a heavy price" for such aggression.

Conricus said Iran was "playing with fire" by infiltrating Israeli airspace, and said the unmanned aircraft Israel shot down was "on a military mission sent and operated by Iranian military forces." He said Israel recovered the remains of the dispatched drone, which proved it was Iranian.

In response, Conricus said Israeli jets destroyed the Iranian site in central Syria that launched it. Upon their return, the jets came under heavy Syrian anti-aircraft fire and the pilots of one of the F-16s had to eject and the plane crashed. It's unclear whether the plane was actually struck or if the pilots abandoned their mission for a different reason.

If the plane was in fact shot down by enemy fire, it could mark the first such instance for Israel since 1982 during the first Lebanon war.

Wassim Elias, 39, a government employee, called it retribution for the many Israeli raids on Syrian soil before. "This earned the Syrian army and every Syrian citizen prestige. This is what we have always demanded," he said.

Firas Hamdan, 42, a public servant, said such Syrian responses will ensure no more Israeli attacks in Syria. "Such attacks should be confronted and the response should be tougher to give the Israelis a lesson."

In subsequent attacks, Israel struck four additional Iranian positions and eight Syrian sites in Syria. The military said significant damage was caused. Conricus said the Israeli jets faced between 15 to 20 anti-aircraft missiles fired by SA-5 and SA-17 batteries. All the Israeli jets in those sorties returned home safely.

Israel has taken great care to coordinate all its actions in the area with Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar Assad and maintains a large military presence in the country.

But Russia's foreign ministry expressed concern over Saturday's strike and called for restraint.

"We consider it necessary to unconditionally respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and other countries of the region," it said in a statement. "It is absolutely unacceptable to create threats to the lives and security of Russian servicemen who are in Syria at the invitation of its legitimate government to assist in the fight against terrorists."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, said Israel targeted the edges of a military air base, called T-4, in the Homs desert near Palmyra, where Iranian and Hezbollah forces are based alongside Syrian troops. The Observatory said the raids resulted in casualties, but didn't specify. It also said Israeli raids targeted areas in southwestern Damascus, bordering the southern provinces. This was followed by raids on Syrian government posts along the Damascus-Beirut road, close to the border between Syria and Lebanon.

Syrian state TV said air defenses hit more than one Israeli plane and that a girl was injured when Israeli missiles fell near a school in a neighborhood in Damascus' countryside.

A Syrian lawmaker, Feras Shehabi, said the response marked a "major shift in the balance of power in favor of Syria and the axis of resistance." He said "Israelis must realize they have no longer superiority in the skies or on the ground."

Retired Lt. Col. Reuven Ben-Shalom, a former Air Force pilot, said the fierce Israeli response was meant not only to counter the immediate threat but also to send "very clear messages" to show Iran how deep Israel's knowledge was of its activity in Syria.

"The fact that a drone like this is identified, tracked and intercepted so smoothly by the Israeli air force demonstrates our capabilities, demonstrates our resolve not to allow the breach of Israeli sovereignty," he said. "I think it's good that our enemies learn and understand these capabilities."

Israel has long complained about the involvement of archenemy Iran, and Iranian proxy Hezbollah, in the Syria war. The Shiite allies have sent forces to back Syrian President Bashar Assad, who appears headed toward victory after years of fighting. Israel has said it will not accept a permanent military presence by Iran and its Shiite allies in Syria, especially near the Israeli border.

Israel has been warning of late of the increased Iranian involvement along its border in Syria and Lebanon. It fears Iran could use Syrian territory to stage attacks or create a land corridor from Iran to Lebanon that could allow it to transfer weapons more easily to Hezbollah.

The Israeli Cabinet recently held a meeting on the Golan Heights near the border with Syria to highlight new threats, which are attributed to Iran's growing confidence given Assad's apparent victory in Syria thanks to their help.

Israel has shot down several drones that previously tried to infiltrate its territory from Syria. The targeting of Iranian sites in response, however, marks an escalation in the Israeli retaliation. The military confirmed that the initial target in Syria — the unmanned aircraft's launch components — was successfully destroyed and released footage of the strike. </s> Israel's military launched an air raid in Syria. The attack was allegedly targeting sites that are linked to the Iranian military.

Israel's army has launched what it calls a large-scale attack in Syria. That's after an Israeli jet attacking targets in Syria came under fire. It's the latest in cross-border attacks there. NPR's Middle East correspondent Ruth Sherlock joins us. Ruth, thanks for being with us.

SIMON: And from what you can tell, what's happened?

SHERLOCK: Well, the Israeli army says that this all started when an Iranian-made drone crossed from Syria into Israeli territory. Israel shot down that drone, and then in retaliation sent eight fighter jets to bomb a Syrian military base - the T4 base near Palmyra - where they said the drone had been operated out of.

But the Israeli military then said that the Syrians responded with substantial anti-aircraft fire. In the middle of that, two Israeli pilots ejected from an F-16 jet, which then crashed in Israel. That prompted the Israelis to then launch a counterattack, which they called a large-scale attack, hitting 12 military sites. Eight of them are thought to be Syrian, the other four Iranian. So it says it hit air defense batteries and military possessions belonging to the Syrian regime, as well.

SIMON: The Israeli military has struck targets in Assad's areas before, but is this an escalation?

SHERLOCK: That's right. Israel has carried out airstrikes in Syria against targets - towards its enemy Iran. The difference here though is that the Israelis had not previously publicly acknowledged these strikes. They usually refuse to comment, whereas today they were briefing journalists. And an Israeli military spokesman also warned that Iran is playing with fire by infiltrating Israeli airspace.

This time, Syria has also signaled an aggressive response. I mean, responding with anti-aircraft batteries and...

SHERLOCK: Excuse me - responding with anti-aircraft batteries. And they've warned that there could be a tough and serious response.

So both the Syrians and the Iranians deny that this drone had anything to do with an attack on Israel or that - they just said it was carrying out routine intelligence on ISIS targets in Syria.

SIMON: What can you foresee as the likely consequences of this today?

SHERLOCK: So the bigger picture here is that Israel has been alarmed about Iran's involvement in the Syrian war for a long time. Iran supports the Syrian regime - Bashar al-Assad - and Israel carried out airstrikes in Syria to try to contain Iranian influence. But the regime is getting stronger. It's winning territory back. And as it gains the upper hand there, Iranian influence is growing.

And Israel is also worried about the strengthening of Hezbollah. That's the Iranian proxy on its border in Lebanon that has been known to receive weapons funneled through Syria. So this is all unacceptable to Israel, and it also seems to be the first time in decades that an Israeli jet was downed under enemy fire. So this is a serious escalation. But people are calling for calm. Russia is seriously concerned about this. It's previously had troops on the base - one of the bases that was struck today, and it called it unacceptable.

Everybody knows that war would be incredibly costly here, but the - for all sides. You know, both Israel and Syria know it would be a very damaging war. And the Israelis signaled that they don't want to take this beyond what happened today. But the fact that it happened at all is a sign of the kind of growing tensions here about - that's born from the reality of the politics.

SIMON: NPR's Ruth Sherlock, thanks so much.

SHERLOCK: Thank you very much. </s> JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian anti-aircraft fire shot down an Israeli fighter jet on Saturday and Israel struck an Iranian target that had launched an unmanned aircraft into its airspace from Syria, the Israeli military said.

“IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria that sent the #UAV into Israeli airspace. Massive Syrian Anti-Air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe,” Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said on Twitter.

Israeli media said the jet crashed in northern Israel. </s> JERUSALEM, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Syrian anti-aircraft fire shot down an Israeli fighter jet on Saturday and Israel struck an Iranian target that had launched an unmanned aircraft into its airspace from Syria, the Israeli military said.

“IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria that sent the #UAV into Israeli airspace. Massive Syrian Anti-Air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe,” Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said on Twitter.

Israeli media said the jet crashed in northern Israel. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Paul Tait) </s> JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military shot down an Iranian drone that infiltrated the country early Saturday and struck Iranian targets in Syria that launched it, in what the military called a “severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty.”

The military says its planes faced heavy anti-aircraft counter fire from Syria that forced Israeli pilots to abandon an F-16 jet that crashed in northern Israel. It said the pilots were injured and evacuated to hospital. Sirens sounded in northern Israel as a result of massive Syrian fire.

Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Iran was “responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty.”

The military says it is “monitoring events and is fully prepared for further action.”

Syrian state TV quoted a military official saying Syrian air defenses hit more than one Israeli plane. The official said the Israeli raids hit a base in the country’s central area, and called it a “new aggression.”

Israel has shot down several drones that previously tried to infiltrate its territory. The targeting of an Iranian site in response, however, marks an escalation in the Israeli retaliation.

Israel has been warning of late of the increased Iranian involvement along its border in Syria and Lebanon. </s> JERUSALEM, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Syrian anti-aircraft fire shot down an Israeli fighter jet on Saturday and Israel struck an Iranian target that had launched an unmanned aircraft into its airspace from Syria, the Israeli military said.

"IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria that sent the #UAV into Israeli airspace. Massive Syrian Anti-Air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said on Twitter.

Israeli media said the jet crashed in northern Israel. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Paul Tait) </s> TEL AVIV — The decision by the Iran-led “Shiite Axis” in the region to send an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into Israeli territory was a dangerous miscalculation by Tehran and its puppets in Syria and Lebanon.

Following strategic victories over the Islamic State and Turkey-backed rebels inside Syria, an overly confident Iran apparently decided to test regional boundaries and its own capabilities by sending the UAV over the border into the Jewish state.

Aviation analysts described the Iranian drone as a new stealthy model similar in design to the American RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone that Iran claimed to have shot down and seized in December 2011. It’s likely the Iranians were testing the model’s ability to penetrate Israeli airspace undetected, making Israel’s discovery of the UAV a remarkable display of regional military superiority.

Iran, Syria and Hezbollah have outrageously been attempting to frame Israel’s massive airstrikes as unprovoked aggression, even fueling conspiracies that no drone was intercepted. In reality, the timeline is self-evident. Following Iran’s ill-conceived provocative UAV move, Israeli jets pounded an Iran-controlled airbase outside the Syrian city of Palmyra that Israel says was utilized to launch the drone. Syrian forces then launched anti-aircraft missiles, reportedly forcing an Israeli F-16 pilot to abandon his jet and sending Israel’s northern communities into bomb shelters. Israel in turn dispatched bombers into Syria to target a series of important Syrian and Iranian military installations, prompting more anti-aircraft fire from Iran-backed Syrian forces.

The Shiite Axis operational to Israel’s north – Iran, Syria and Hezbollah – have been celebrating the incident that resulted in the F-16 abandonment as a victory. “This is the beginning of a new strategic era which puts an end to the violation of Syrian airspace and territory,” Hezbollah claimed in a statement published by Lebanon’s ANI news agency. The Israel Air Force will indeed need to investigate what went wrong and must calibrate accordingly. However, Hezbollah’s celebrations are more posturing than realistic and seem designed to mask the extent of Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes.

Israel will undoubtedly continue to act in Syria and Lebanon when necessary to ensure the Jewish state’s security. Meanwhile, Israel’s strikes in Syria have been described in news media reports as not only its most serious engagement in that country since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, but the most devastating blow dealt to the Syrians – and by extension to their Iranian overlords – since perhaps the first Lebanon war in 1982.

Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said it would take Iran and Syria some time to “digest” the extent of the Israeli raids. “They, and we, know what we hit and it will take them some time to digest, understand and ask how Israel knew how to hit those sites,” he said. “These were concealed sites and we have intelligence agencies and the ability to know everything that is going on there and yesterday we proved that.”

Iran’s drone fleet is an important part of its war arsenal against Israel. Hezbollah has previously threatened to send explosives-laden drones to target Israel’s nuclear plant and civilian infrastructure. Only last week, Iran announced the opening of a drone manufacturing facility meant to mass produce UAVs that can carry smart munitions to attack various targets.

It also must be recalled that Iran’s dispatching of the drone yesterday followed weeks of escalating rhetoric in which Hezbollah repeatedly threatened to attack Israeli offshore gas platforms, IDF troops operating along the northern border and dispatch fighters to storm the Israeli border.

In reacting as it did, Israel sent Iran, Syria and Hezbollah a clear message that they will suffer enormously following any future provocation. The Shiite Axis would do well to check its inflated hubris and think twice before messing with Israel again.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
The Israeli Army says that it shot down a Syrian UAV manufactured in Iran and, in response, it bombed the Tiyas Military Airbase in Homs Governorate, Syria, where it was launched from.