Turkey shoots down unidentified aircraft near Syria
Turkey says it has shot down an aircraft of unknown nationality that had intruded into its airspace near the Syrian border.
In a statement, Turkey’s military said the plane ignored three warnings before Turkish warplanes shot down the aircraft Friday.
Turkey has in the past shot down Syrian jets and helicopters for violating Turkish airspace during Syria’s four-and-a-half-year civil war.
More recently, Turkey has complained about at least two instances of Russian warplanes violating its territory.
Moscow has carried out two weeks of airstrikes in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled government.
Earlier this month, Turkish officials warned that Russian planes that cross the border into Turkey could be shot down.
Moscow has blamed navigational error for some of the intrusions, but some Western officials have said the violations are deliberate.
Ankara, which supports Syrian rebels, has strongly criticized Russia’s military intervention.
Source: VOANews.com
