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> 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.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

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.

سلاح الدفاع الجوي في الجيش السوري يُسقط طائرة استطلاع صهيونية من دون طيار بعد خرقها السيادة السورية في ريف #القنيطرة#الاعلام_الحربي_المركزي pic.twitter.com/NU5Ecls6Kk — الاعلام الحربي مركزي (@C_Military1) March 20, 2017

طائرة الاستطلاع الصهيونية التي اسقطتها الدفاعات الجوية السورية فوق #القنيطرة هي من نوع سكاي لارك وزنها 7 كلغ تقريبا مع حمولة تصل إلى 1.2 كلغ pic.twitter.com/f3JfNtXHV5 — الاعلام الحربي مركزي (@C_Military1) March 20, 2017

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> Story highlights Syria claims it shot down an Israeli warplane and drone near Israeli border Tuesday

But Israel says none of its aircraft were struck, calling the claim "completely false"

(CNN) The Israel Defense Forces have rejected Syrian military claims to have downed an Israeli warplane and drone over southwest Syria Tuesday morning as "completely false."

The General Command of the Syrian Armed Forces said in a statement that the incident occurred at 1:30 am local time Tuesday (6:30 p.m. ET Monday), after Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian army position in al-Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights .

The statement said that Syrian air defense shot down a warplane southwest of al-Quneitra, and a drone west of the town of SaaSaa.

But the IDF spokesman's office called the claims "total lies."

Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said that "overnight two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission overnight to target Syrian artillery positions. At no point was the safety of IDF aircraft compromised."

Read More </s> YERUSHALAYIM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The IDF denied on Tuesday morning a report on Syrian state media that an Israeli warplane and a drone were shot down after an Israeli attack on a Syrian army position.

“Overnight two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission to target Syrian artillery positions. At no point was the safety of [Israeli] aircraft compromised,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

The Syrian army earlier said it had shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone in Syria after an Israeli attack on a Syrian army position in southern Syria.

SANA news agency said that the warplane had attacked an army position at 1 a.m. on Tuesday in the southern Quneitra countryside, and that it and a drone were then shot down. </s> Syrian army says it shot down Israeli warplane and a drone - state media

BEIRUT, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Syrian army said on Tuesday it had shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone in Syria after an Israeli attack on a Syrian army position in southern Syria, state media reported.

SANA news agency said the warplane had attacked an army position at 1 a.m. on Tuesday in the southern Quneitra countryside. It and a drone were then shot down.

The Israeli military was not immediately able to comment. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Dominic Evans) </s> Syrian army says it shot down Israeli warplane, drone

Syria's military said it shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone early Tuesday in response to an attack on Syrian army positions -- a claim denied by Israel.

"Our air defences blocked the attack and shot down the military aircraft in (the southern province of) Quneitra and a drone" in the province of Damascus, said the Syrian army statement carried by state news agency SANA.

It accused Israeli forces of supporting "armed terrorist groups" in the country's south.

The Israeli army said none of its aircraft had been downed.

"Overnight two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the (Israeli) mission overnight to target Syrian artillery positions," military spokesman Arye Shalicar said.

"At no point was the safety of (Israeli) aircraft compromised. Nothing true about what they claim."

The Israeli military earlier said it targeted Syrian army positions after stray fire from its war-torn neighbour hit the Israeli-held zone of the Golan Heights on Monday.

An Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP Monday's projectile was most likely not intentional, rather spillover from "internal fighting in Syria."

It was the fourth such incident in nine days, and came as a new Syrian ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States came into force on Monday.

The initial 48-hour truce does not apply to areas held by jihadists such as the Islamic State group. </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> A man sits on an old tank as he watches fighting taking place in Syria as seen from the Israeli side of the border fence between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights September 11, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said its aircraft attacked a Syrian army position on Tuesday after a stray mortar bomb struck the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, and it denied a Syrian statement that a warplane and drone were shot down.

The air strike was a now-routine Israeli response to the occasional spillover from fighting in a five-year-old civil war, and across Syria a ceasefire was holding at the start of its second day.

Syria’s army command said in a statement that Israeli warplanes had attacked an army position at 1 a.m. on Tuesday (2200 GMT, Monday) in the countryside of Quneitra province.

The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked targets in Syria hours after the mortar bomb from fighting among factions in Syria struck the Golan Heights. Israel captured the plateau from Syria in a 1967 war.

Related Coverage Israeli military denies any of its aircraft shot down in Syria

The Syrian army said it had shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone after the Israeli attack.

Denying any of its aircraft had been lost, the Israeli military said in a statement: “Overnight two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission to target Syrian artillery positions. At no point was the safety of (Israeli) aircraft compromised.”

The seven-day truce in Syria, brokered by Russia and the United States, is their second attempt this year by to halt the bloodshed.
The Syrian Army shoots down an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Skylark drone over Syria's Quneitra Governorate.