Syria downs Turkish spy drone over Idlib Province: Report

Syrian air defense forces have reportedly shot down a Turkish reconnaissance drone after it violated the crisis-hit Arab country’s airspace and flew over parts of the northwestern province of Idlib.

The unmanned aerial vehicle crossed into Syria’s airspace on Thursday and carried out surveillance flights before being targeted over the town of Talet Khattab, situated about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) east of the city of Jisr al-Shughour, near the border with Turkey, Syria-based Arabic-language newspaper, al-Watan, reported.

An informed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft was purportedly collecting information and taking pictures for members of the terrorist group, Jaish al-Fath, following several failed attempts to overrun Talet Khattab.

On May 16, former Turkish defense minister, Ismet Yilamz, said his country’s army had shot down a Syrian helicopter.

According to Turkish-language daily, Hürriyet, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet targeted and brought down the Syrian aircraft with two missiles.

In March 2014, Turkey shot down another Syrian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border. A Syrian helicopter was also targeted by the Turkish Air Force in September 2013.

Turkey has been one of the main opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since a conflict began in neighboring Syria five years ago.

Various offshoots of al-Qaeda and the ISIL Takfiri terrorists use the Turkish-Syrian border as a major supply route for obtaining heavy weapons and artillery.

Ankara is widely believed to be facilitating the flow of foreign nationals into neighboring Syria and Iraq, where they join the ranks of extremist terror groups.

Back in February, Turkey and the United States signed a deal to train and arm what they called moderate militants fighting against the government of Assad.