Syria 'fires on Israel warplanes'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6981674.stm

(Gold9472: NOT good.)

9/6/2070

Syria says its air defences have opened fire on Israeli war planes which had entered Syrian airspace overnight.

Israeli planes had "dropped ammunition" over desert areas of Syria, before being forced to leave, according to the official Syrian news agency, SANA.

Israel radio quoted an unnamed Israeli army source as saying no air strike had been carried out, Reuters agency said.

The Syrian news agency says the action took place "without causing human or material loss".

Syria and Israel have remained technically at war since the seizure of the Golan Heights in 1967.

Tensions between Israeli and Syria have been rising in recent months. Both countries' leaders have said they do not want a war, while accusing the other side of arming for a conflict.

Syria says it last fired at Israeli warplanes in June 2006, when Israeli aircraft flew over the summer residence of the Syrian president, while he was inside.

Syria: We fired on IAF jet that violated our airspace, dropped ammo

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/901650.html

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies
9/6/2007

The Syrian army said Thursday that its air defenses fired on an Israel Air Force warplane that entered Syria airspace and "dropped ammunition," the country's official news agency reported.

The Israel Defense Forces said it would have no comment on the Syrian reports.

"It is not our custom to respond to these kinds of reports," the IDF Spokesman's Office said in a statement.

The Prime Minister's Office said it was looking into the report.

Syrian air defenses fired at the incoming plane, which crossed into Syria after midnight local time, the agency said.

The Syrian Army spokesman, quoted by the official Syrian Arab News Agency, did not say how the military fired on the aircraft, but confirmed that the incident occurred at midnight Wednesday night.

"We warn the Israeli enemy government against this flagrant aggressive act, and retain the right to respond in an appropriate way," the spokesman said.

"The Israeli enemy aircraft infiltrated into the Arab Syrian territory through the northern border, coming from the Mediterranean heading toward the eastern region, breaking the sound barrier," the Syrian spokesman said.

"Air defense units confronted them and forced them to leave after they dropped some ammunition in deserted areas without causing any human or material damage."

Al-Arabiya television reported that the air strike occured in north-eastern Syria, close to the border with Turkey.

A Syrian analyst told Hebzollah's Al-Manar television that the plane was likely dumping ammunition in order to maneuver, and was not carrying out a bombing raid.

The reported incident comes after months of growing tensions along the frontier and concerns that the escalation could result in war. Over the summer, Israeli and Syrian officials have repeatedly made announcements that they had no interest in hostilities.

Security official said late last month, however, that the IDF had decided that war with Syria is unlikely and was reducing its troop presence in the Golan Heights after months of cross-border tension.

The Israeli officials said recently that Syria's military had also reduced its war readiness, but offered no details as the exact steps taken by the Syrians are classified. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge the information to the press.

In an interview Sunday night with Haaretz, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he saw no reason for any forthcoming military conflict between Israel and Syria.