Drones, planes, missiles crash as Israel, Syria clash

Tension flared in the Middle East on Saturday starting with an Iranian drone flying over Israel and culminating in Israel firing missiles at 12 military targets in Syria. Early Saturday, Israel shot down an Iranian drone that, according to an Israeli spokesman, was on a military mission in the Jewish state’s airspace. Anti-aircraft fire from across the Syrian border subsequently brought down an Israeli F-16 flying over northern Israel. One pilot was seriously wounded and another injured lightly when they abandoned the jet. Israel responded with missile strikes on 12 targets in Syria, including three aerial defense batteries and four Iranian military installments. The Iranian and Syrian governments, staunch allies in both regional conflicts and the Syrian civil war, denied the drone that started the fracas ever entered Israeli airspace. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Israel was not interested in further escalation of the conflict, but it would “extract a heavy price” for incursions into its territory.