Syria shot Turkish jet in international air space, says Turkish FM

ANKARA - Daily News with wires

DHA photo





An attack by Syria that downed an unarmed Turkish reconnaissance jet on June 22 occurred in international waters, Turkish Foreign Minster Ahmet Davutoğlu said today. Turkey ’s foreign minister says a Turkish jet was downed in international airspace after it mistakenly entered Syria, but the plane was not on a spying mission, the Associated Press reported.Davutoğlu said the plane entered Syrian airspace on June 22, but quickly left when warned by Turkey.He said the plane had no "covert mission related to Syria," and it was purely on a training flight to test Turkey’s radar capabilities.Davutoğlu said the plane was shot down by Syria in "international airspace" several minutes after it left."The plane was not hiding its identity and could be seen by all," Davutoğlu said.Syria said late June 22 that they only realized that the plane belonged to Turkey after they shot it down.Syria insisted yesterday the shooting down of the plane was "not an attack," and that the plane had violated its airspace.