ISRAEL has shot down a Syrian warplane that it claimed had penetrated its airspace, the military said Tuesday, in a rare strike that could provoke tensions as Syrian forces fight to retake ground close to Israeli-held territory.

The military said in a statement that two surface-to-air Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet, which it said had penetrated its airspace by about 2 kilometers.

“It was shot down and it crashed,” Israeli military spokesman Lieut-Col Jonathan Conricus told reporters, adding that the aircraft likely fell into Syrian territory.

“We do not have any information so far about the pilots. I do not know of any reports of parachutes being spotted, and we do not know if any pilots have been retrieved,” he said.

Sirens were heard across the occupied Golan Heights, near the Syria frontier and Israeli media said residents saw missiles’ contrails and the sound of explosions.

It is the first time Israel has shot down a Syrian fighter jet since 2014, although this year it has hit what it says are Syrian drones breaching its airspace, possibly by accident.

Since mid-June, Syrian Government forces, backed by Russia, have been conducting a deadly bombing campaign close to the Golan Heights.

Israel captured the 1,200-sq-km plateau from Syria in 1967 and still occupies the area, remaining in a protracted state of war with its neighbor. The United Nations deployed a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974 and established a buffer zone. (SD-Agencies)