BEIRUT, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Syria's army said on Monday that Turkey had been "hasty" in shooting down a Syrian helicopter after it entered Turkish airspace and accused Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government of trying to escalate tensions along the border.

"The hasty response from the Turkish side, especially as the aircraft was on its way back and was not charged with any combat missions, is proof of the true intentions of Erdogan's government toward Syria to increase tensions and escalate the situation on the border between the two countries," Syria's armed forces said in a statement reported by the state news agency SANA.

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