Syria said on Sunday that an Israeli drone had been brought down in the province of Quneitra near the Golan Heights.

State media said the drone was flying above the village of Hadar when it was downed.

It was not immediately verifiable whether it had been shot down or had crashed.

The report showed footage of what looked like an Israeli skylark 1 model UAV.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had no knowledge of an unmanned aerial vehicle that was downed in Syria, a spokesman said.

The Skylark is manufactured by Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit Systems. It weighs seven kilograms and is intended for use by battalion commanders to help in intelligence gathering.

It is operated by soldiers from the Skylark battalion, and is transported and operated directly by forces in the field.

Quneitra has seen heavy fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels including Al-Qaida-linked fighters.

Israel has struck Syria several times since the start of the latter's nearly four-year civil war, mostly destroying weaponry such as missiles that Israeli officials said were destined for their long-time foe Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

Syria said last week that Israeli jets had bombed areas near Damascus international airport and in the town of Dimas, near the border with Lebanon.