IAF shoots down drone infiltrating Israel, apparently from Syria
It is not clear whether the unmanned aircraft contained explosives or was sent to photograph aerial images.
By Amos Harel | Sep. 1, 2014 | 3:02 AM
Heavy fighting between rebels and Assad forces near Syria border
By Gili Cohen , Reuters and Baz Ratner and Ori Lewis
Sep. 1, 2014 | 5:15 PM | 1
The Israel Air Force shot down an unmanned aircraft that infiltrated Israeli territory in the north in the Quneitra area near the border. The Israel Defense Forces told the Associated Press that the drone appeared to have belonged to the Syrian military and had flown accidentally into Israeli airspace.
The IDF said that the drone was identified in Israel's air space and shot down by a ground-to-air Patriot missile. The IDF "will respond to any breach of Israel's sovereignty," Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.
It is not clear whether the drone was carrying explosives or was sent to photograph aerial images. It is also not clear whether the aircraft was intentionally launched at Israel, or if its operators dispatched it errantly in this direction. It is also not clear whether the aircraft was intentionally launched at Israel, or if its operators dispatched it errantly in this direction.
Patriot missiles shot down two drones from Gaza over the course of the 50-day operation.
A senior IAF officer said that during the Gaza operation, Hamas launched a number of unmanned aircraft at Israel, equipped with both photographing capabilities and explosives. The drones shot down during the Gaza operation were homemade, but created with technology, financing and information transferred by Iran.
Last year, an Israeli war plane shot down an unmanned drone launched from the direction of the Lebanon, over Israeli waters about 10 kilometers off the coast of Haifa.
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/content/iaf-shoots-down-drone-infiltrating-israel-apparently-syria
