Israel interceptor missile shoots down drone at Syrian frontier

Israel’s military said it had fired a missile at a drone that approached from Syria on Friday, and a witness on the Syrian side of the frontier said the aircraft had been brought down.

The incident occurred two days after an Israeli Patriot missile downed what the Israeli military said was a pilotless and apparently unarmed Syrian reconnaissance aircraft near the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel.

“A Patriot missile was launched toward a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that approached from Syria,” a military statement said about Friday’s interception. It said more details would follow.

A witness on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights frontier said the aircraft had crashed.

Israel has been on alert as Syrian army advance on rebels in the vicinity of the Golan Heights, much of which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed, in a move not recognized internationally.

Reuters