An Israeli F16 fighter jet crashed in Israel Saturday as the air force was carrying out attacks against "Iranian targets" in Syria after intercepting a drone, a spokesman said.
"IDF (Israel Defence Force) has targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria that sent the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) into Israeli airspace. Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Jonathan Conricus wrote on Twitter.
"Iran is responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty," Conricus said on Twitter.
According to a separate military statement, Israeli forces had identified an "Iranian UAV" launched from Syria and intercepted it in Israeli airspace with a combat helicopter.
Syrian air defences repelled an Israeli raid on a military base in the centre of the country on Saturday, hitting more than one warplane, Syria's state-run media said.
The report came after the Israeli military said one of its fighter jets had crashed during strikes against "Iranian targets" in Syria after intercepting a drone.
"At dawn, the Zionist enemy carried out a new aggression against one of our military bases in the centre of the country," Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
"Our air defences repelled it and hit more than one plane."
Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes on the Syrian armed forces and their allies since the civil war broke out in 2011.
Iran with Russia is the main military backer of the Damascus government.
Israel has largely confined its operations to targeting Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group that is a key ally of Iran.
Israeli media said the jet crashed in northern Israel.
The incident, which reportedly took place near the central Homs province, is the latest escalation between Israel and the Syrian government.
It was one of the most serious incidents involving Israel, Iran and Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war almost eight years ago.
This week, Israeli missiles targeted a Syrian military research centre in the countryside near Damascus.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a rare visit to the Israel-Syria front on Tuesday and warned Israel's enemies not to "test" its resolve. He did not mention by name Iran or its Lebanese militia ally, Hezbollah, both main players in Syria's civil war.
Netanyahu has been cautioning against any attempt by Iran to deepen its military foothold in Syria or construct missile factories in neighbouring Lebanon.
Israel has seen spillover violence from the Syrian civil war. It has opened fire at times to foil what it deemed deliberate cross-border attacks and has struck suspected Hezbollah arms shipments around 100 times in Syria during the civil war.
