Israel Shoots Down Syrian Warplane Along Border

Pilots Reportedly Died of Injuries After Ejecting

With most of the attention on Syria in the northeast, with US warplanes pounding ISIS, the Israeli military shot down a Syrian Su-24 fighter in the nation’s southwest, along the Golan frontier.

Israel said the plane crossed the border into their own occupied portion of Golan and was shot down. Syria slammed the attack as an act of aggression, while Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon accused Syria of violating their sovereignty.

Israeli military officials said they believe the Syrian plane crossed the border by accident, which Ya’alon did not discount, but insisted Israel would react strongly to “perceived threats” even if they stem from a mistake.

Though early reports were that the pilots ejected to safety from the shootdown, the reports this evening are that they died, either from wounds suffered in the strike or, according to rebels, were executed by the military.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.