Damascus warns Israel of 'more surprises' in Syria
Israel will face "more surprises" should it again attack Syrian territory, Damascus said yesterday, after Syria's air defences shot down an advanced Israeli warplane during the fiercest flare-up between the old foes in 36 years.
The F-16 jet was hit over northern Israel on Saturday as it returned from a raid on a Syrian position blamed for launching an Iranian-made drone across the border. Iran is supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's near seven-year civil war.
"God willing, they will see more surprises whenever they try to attack Syria," Assistant Foreign Minister Ayman Sussan said.
The downed F-16 was the first warplane Israel has lost to enemy fire since its 1982 Lebanon war. Its two-man crew survived, with injuries, after bailing out of the stricken jet.
Israel retaliated by destroying around half of Syria's anti-aircraft batteries, according to an initial assessment shared with Reuters by an Israeli official who requested anonymity.
Israel has said it will press ahead with missions in Syria, where it has launched scores of sorties against suspected arms transfers to Iranian-sponsored Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.
Tehran's involvement in Syria, including the deployment of Iran-backed forces near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has alarmed Israel. It has also has accused Iran of building precision-guided missile factories for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the flare-up by urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid escalation in Syria.
Meanwhile, Turkey on Monday warned the United States it was time to either make or break ties between the Nato allies that have strained badly over the Turkish operation in Syria, days ahead of key talks with Washington's top diplomat.
"Our relations are at a very critical point. They will either be fixed or these ties will be completely damaged," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in televised comments in Istanbul.
On his part, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday said that Turkey's operation against Kurdish forces in northwestern Syria has "detracted" from the larger coalition war against the Islamic State group.
Ankara last month launched a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in the western enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.
While Turkey views the YPG as a "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the US has been working closely with the militia against the Islamic State extremist group in Syria and giving it weapons.
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