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Syrian plane downed by Israel stayed in Syria’s airspace — media

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday they had shot down a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet over the Israeli territory with two Patriot missiles
Patriot missile defense battery in Israel AP Photo/Ariel Schalit
Patriot missile defense battery in Israel
© AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. The Syrian military plane shot down by Israel on Tuesday stayed in Syria’s airspace and was delivering strikes against terrorists’ positions in the country’s south, a Syrian military source told the news agency SANA.

According to the source, the plane was attacking terrorists near the community of Sayda in the Wadi Yarmouk area of the Daraa province.

"Israel has confirmed by this aggressive raid that it is patronizing terrorist formations, against which the Syrian troops are conducting military operations," the source stressed.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported earlier on Tuesday they had shot down a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet over Israeli territory with two Patriot missiles.

According to data of the Sky News Arabia TV Channel, the plane fell on Syrian territory in the basin of the Yarmouk River. The TV Channel has given no information on whether the pilots managed to eject before the plane was struck by the missiles.

The Syrian government forces launched an operation on Tuesday against militants of the Jaysh Khalid bin-Walid extremist grouping linked with the Islamic State (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) in the estuary of the Yarmouk River at the junction of the Jordanian border with the Golan Heights.

Aviation and artillery are rendering support to the Syrian government troops and delivering strikes against terrorists’ positions.

According to Al-Akhbar newspaper, armed opposition groups that joined the government forces in the southern province of Daraa in July are taking part in the fights against the Islamic State formations.