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IDF Patriot intercepts apparent Hezbollah drone from Syria
[IsraelTimes] Army says it 'will not allow' Iran and its allies near the Golan Heights to violate Israeli illusory sovereignty.The Israeli Air Force shot down an Iranian-built drone launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization with a Patriot missile after it attempted to cross into Israeli airspace on Tuesday, the army said. The military also scrambled fighter jets to the area, but ultimately did not need to use them as the interceptor missile was able to destroy the target. After the drone breached the “Bravo line” that marks the Syrian border and entered the demilitarized zone — but not Israeli airspace — the IDF “decided to intercept it,” army spokesperson Lt. Col. Yonatan Conricus said. In a statement, the IDF said it “will not allow any infiltration or approach toward the Golan Heights area by terrorist figures from Iranian forces, Hezbollah, Shiite militias or Islamic Jihad.” Speaking to reporters, Conricus added that Israel “will respond swiftly and forcefully against any such attempts.” However, he said the IDF was “not looking to escalate” the situation by retaliating “at this time.” According to Conricus, the air force monitored the unmanned aerial vehicle from its take-off at Damascus airport to the demilitarized zone that separates the Israeli and Syrian Golan Heights. “We monitor everything that flies toward the State of Israel and follow it closely for any potential threat,” he said. Conricus said Military Intelligence was able to identify the drone as Iranian-built and Hezbollah-launched based on the army’s arrays of sensors in the area and its years of experience monitoring the group. The spokesperson said the drone appeared to be performing reconnaissance mission in the area. It was not immediately clear if the drone was armed. The debris from the drone landed near the Syrian city of Quneitra so the IDF was not able to recover it, he said. He would not comment on whether the IDF was in contact about the incident with Russian forces in the region, with which Israel has a communication mechanism in place to avoid friction. The Patriot interceptor missile was launched from a military installation in northern Israel, near the city of Safed. Posted by: trailing wife 2017-09-20 |
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