Foreign

Syrian army claims it shot down Israeli jet, missiles

January 9, 2018

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ISRAEL-MILITARY-GRADUATION — An Israeli F-15 fighter jet takes off during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, on December 29, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ

Syria’s military says Israel has launched missiles targeting military outposts near Damascus and claims that the Syrian air force shot down one of the Israeli jets.

The army says the Syrian air defense confronted the missile attacks on the outposts in the area of Qutayfeh in the Damascus countryside on Tuesday.

The statement says several missiles were first launched at 2:40 am, followed by two more missiles at 3:04 am and four at 4:14 am.

The military said the Syrian air defense shot down one missile and the rest fell on one of the Syrian military sites, causing material damage.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the matter.

Israel carries out several attacks on Syrian military positions: Israel carried out several attacks on Syrian military positions before daybreak on Tuesday, the Syrian army said in a statement.

At 2:40am local time (0040 GMT), Israeli warplanes fired several missiles from inside the Lebanese airspace on the Syrian area of Qutaifa in the countryside of the capital Damascus, said the statement, adding that the Syrian air defenses responded by hitting one of the Israeli warplanes.

At 3:04 am, Israel fired two surface-to-surface missiles from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but the Syrian air defenses destroyed them.

Israel renewed attacks at 4:15 a.m. by firing another four missiles from inside Israel, one of them destroyed by the air defenses while the rest landed near a military position in Syria, causing property losses.

The military statement said the new aggression reflects Israel’s support to the terror groups in Syria and its desperate attempt to lift their morals after the “painful blows dealt to the terror groups” by the Syrian army across the country, mainly in the city of Harasta in eastern Damascus, and the northwestern province of Idlib.