An Israeli jet was shot down by Syrian anti-air fire after Israel intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria. The incident is one of the most serious involving Israel, Iran and Syria during Syria's civil war.
Image: Reuters/H. Shapira
Advertisement
On Saturday, Israeli planes carried out attacks on "Iranian targets" in Syria after intercepting a drone, with one F-16 fighter downed by heavy anti-aircraft counter fire, a military spokesman said.
Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus wrote on Twitter that the plane had crashed in Israel but the pilots were safe, adding that the incident occurred as Israeli forces attacked the "Iranian control systems in Syria" responsible for the launch of the drone.
An Israeli official said the jet was shot down. The pilots were taken to hospital for treatment, according to the military, with one seriously wounded and the other lightly.
In a separate statement, the military reported that a "combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian UAV that was launched from Syria and infiltrated Israel."
It said it had carried out "large-scale" attacks on at least a dozen Iranian targets in Syria in response to the unmanned aerial vehicle's intrusion into Israeli airspace.
But the Syrian military denied that the drone had violated Israeli airspace, claiming that the aircraft was on a mission to gather intelligence on "Islamic State" militants within Syria. Read more: Syria conflict: What do the US, Russia, Turkey and Iran want?
Mutual blame game
The Syrian state news agency SANA quoted an unidentified military source as saying that government forces had responded with anti-aircraft fire to an Israeli act of "aggression" against a military base and that more than one Israeli plane had been hit.
The Israeli military insists that only one plane was affected.
Israel's targeting of an Iranian site in Syria marks an escalation in military action involving the three countries and is one of the most serious incidents of its type since Syria's conflict began eight years ago.
Iran and its Lebanese militia ally, Hezbollah, are both major players in Syria's multi-faceted civil war. Israel has experienced spillover violence from the fighting and responded with measures such as shooting down several drones that have tried to infiltrate its territory.
Israel has warned of increasing Iranian involvement along its borders with Syria and Lebanon, and officials have expressed fears that Iran could use Syrian territory as a base for attacks.
Israeli missiles also targeted a Syrian military research center near Damascus this week.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
