Israel Shoots Down Syrian Fighter Jet over Golan Heights

Israel has shot down a Syrian fighter jet over the Golan Heights Tuesday, saying that the aircraft infiltrated into Israeli airspace.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said that the aircraft infiltration was perceived as a threat to Israeli territory in Golan Heights. He also said that Israel would respond strongly to any such incursions in the future.

"We will not any allow element, whether it is a terror group or a state, to threaten our security and breach our sovereignty," Yaalon said. "We are committed first and foremost to ensure the security of the Israel's citizens and we will use all means at our disposal to do so," he said, reports the Associated Press.

An Israeli defense official said that the downed plane was a Sukhoi Su-24 Russian fighter jet.

The Syrian fighter jet infiltrated 800 meters into the Israeli airspace and attempted to return to Syria when Israel fired a patriot missile.

However, the pilot managed to eject in time and landed in Syrian territory, a defense official said.

Military sources said that they believed the Sukhoi 24 strayed into the Israeli airspace while on a mission to bomb antigovernment groups near the border.

According to the UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , the Syrian fighter jet  was bombing areas outside Quneitra, a Syrian town near the Israeli-held side of the frontier when it  was shot down, reports The Guardian.

Brigadier General Ram Shmueli, former head of the Israeli air force's intelligence unit, said that the incident happened probably due to pilot error.

"We believe [the pilot's] mission was to attack enemy forces - not ours - in the Syrian Golan Heights," he said, reports BBC citing AFP.

It is the first time since the 1980s that Israel has downed a Syrian warplane.