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Syria claims to have shot down two Israeli aircraft

Israel has regularly bombed Syrian territory during the course of its long civil war after fighting in Syria spilled onto the Israeli border.

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No injures were reported in the latest projectile incident.

In response to the incidents, Israeli jets targeted Syrian regime artillery batteries near the border early Tuesday morning and then again late that night.

Three mortar shells from Syria landed on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights Tuesday afternoon, within the span of an hour, after a rare overnight incident in which the Syrian Army fired two surface-to-air missiles at Israeli Air Force aircraft.

Israeli soldiers and peacekeepers of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) (2nd from L) monitor the border with Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights on September 13, 2016.

This morning, a senior level official in the Syrian Army commented on the tension in the region and said that “it is an Israeli attempt to escalate the situation and derail the ceasefire that was brokered by Russian Federation and the U.S.”.

The IDF confirmed it had been shot at but said the aircraft were not near the source of fire nor in any danger.

In a rare response to a foreign report, the IDF on Tuesday denied that any of its aircraft had been downed, but said Syrian forces had fired two surface-to-air missiles after the Israeli strike Monday night on a Syrian position.

“At no point was the safety of (Israeli) aircraft compromised”.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict, mortar shells have exploded periodically inside Israeli territory, causing damage but no injuries.

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The IDF has said that it holds the Syrian regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, responsible for any aggression coming from its territory.

Syria 'shoots down Israeli aircraft&#039 in disputed Golan Heights territory