Israelis: Downed Syrian plane that flew over Golan Heights

JERUSALEM — Israel said Tuesday that it shot down a Syrian warplane that entered airspace above the Golan Heights as internal fighting just across the border in Syria intensified during a government offensive to retake rebel areas.

The downing of the jet comes at a time when Israel has been pressing to ensure that its security concerns in Syria are addressed as President Bashar Assad’s forces mop up remaining territory held by rebels in the south of the country.

The Israeli military said it fired two Patriot missiles at the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet, which crossed about a mile into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The plane fell inside Syrian territory, and the fate of the pilots is unknown, Israeli officials said.

Syrian state media said the plane had been “raiding terrorist gatherings” near the area of Wadi al-Yarmouk and was inside Syrian airspace when it was shot down.

This marked only the second time that Israel has downed a Syrian plane in more than three decades. Israel shot down another that crossed into the Golan Heights in 2014.

The Israeli military has been on high alert as fighting inside Syria has pushed closer to Israel’s northern border in recent weeks. As the civil war in Syria has shifted in favor of Assad, who is backed by forces from Iran and Russia, Israel has had to recalibrate its approach. Chnically at war with Syria, Israel says it has no issue with Syrian government forces returning to areas they held before the civil war — as long as forces linked to Iran are excluded.

Information for this article was contributed by Louisa Loveluck and Ruth Eglash of The Washington Post.