Turkish PM Erdogan confirms Turkish armed forces shot down Syrian jet
23 March 2014, 17:00 -- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday his country's armed forces had shot down a Syrian jet after it violated Turkish airspace, confirming media reports.
'A Syrian plane violated our airspace. Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard,' he told a rally of his supporters in northwest Turkey ahead of March 30 local elections.
Syria accuses its northern neighbour Turkey of 'aggression' after plane downed
Syria on Sunday accused its northern neighbour Turkey of 'flagrant aggression' after Turkish forces shot down a warplane bombarding rebels near the border.
'In a flagrant act of aggression that is evidence of (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan's support for terrorist groups, Turkish anti-aircraft defences shot down a Syrian military aircraft that was chasing terrorist groups inside Syrian territory at Kasab,' a military source said.
Turkey's TV channel cites officials saying Turkish Armed Forces downed Syrian jet that invaded its air space
A Turkish TV channel, NTV, has cited Turkey's officials who claim that their country's Armed Forces have shot down a Syrian plane after it allegedly violated Turkish air space.
The jet was downed in the northern border region with Turkey where rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces, activists and regional media said.
It wasn't immediately clear who struck the plane down, although the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based NGO, quoted local residents as saying earlier the plane had been brought down by shooting from the Turkish side of the border.
Al-Manar, the television station of Lebanon's Hezbollah group, also said two rockets were fired from Turkish territory.
Nontheless, Reuters said that Turkish media initially quoted officials as denying Turkey had shot it down and blaming it on Syrian rebels.
Voice of Russia, Reuters
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