IDF shoots down Syrian warplane as things heat up in Golan Heights

Jerusalem/Beirut -- Israel says it shot down a Syrian warplane that crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday. The Syrians claim the jet was fired upon as it flew an operation against rebels on Syrian territory.

The latest incident increases existing tensions in the area, a strategic plateau between the two long-standing enemies. Little Israel has been high alert as Russian-supported Syrian government forces close in to take back rebel-held territory.

Israeli sirens have been sounded on the Golan and witnesses saw two missiles flying into the sky. The IDF said it fired Patriot interceptor missiles at a Syrian Sukhoi jet that crossed about a mile into Israeli airspace after they first tried to warn it off.

"It was shot down and it crashed . . . most likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights," Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.

The jet crashed in northern Israel and both pilots ejected and were injured, one critically, it was recently discovered.

The fate of the two pilots is unknown, but there were no reports of any parachutes opening.

Syrian state media [aka fake news] said the warplane had been targeted by Israel and hit while conducting raids in Syrian airspace. [Google the term: 'taqiyya'].

An IDF statement addressed the civil war across the border.

"Since morning hours, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria, including an increase in the activity of the Syrian Air Force," the statement read.

The statement made it clear that Israel would "continue to operate against" any breach of a 1974 U.N. armistice deal establishing buffer zones on the Golan.

Israel is concerned that the chinless Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [the 'ad' is silent] might decide to defy the demilitarization regime or allow his forces and Hezbollah reinforcement to deploy in the area.

These recent tensions have prompted intercession by Sergei Lavrov [of Hillary Clinton 'reset button' fame] and a top general on Monday for talks with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The PM does not agree with Russia's offer to keep Iranian forces 62 miles away from the Golan lines.

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