Syria says its air defenses opened fire on Israeli jets during overflight

Air defenses fired on Israeli warplanes that entered Syrian airspace early Wednesday and forced them to flee, state TV said as Mideast tensions escalated over the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants.

Photo: Syria says its air defenses opened fire on Israeli jets during overflight

Israel said its planes buzzed the summer residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia, flying low enough to cause a noise on the ground.

Israeli officials said on condition of anonymity that Assad was targeted because of the "direct link" between Syria and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group holding Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19, in the Gaza Strip. Syria hosts Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' exiled supreme leader.

The Syrian state television report did not mention the overflight of Assad's residence, saying two Israeli planes flew "at a low altitude" near Syria's Mediterranean coast around dawn Wednesday.

"The overflight by two Israeli planes near the Syrian shores is an aggressive act and a provocation," the television news said, quoting an unindentified Information Ministry official.

It said "national air defenses opened fire in the direction of the planes, and they dispersed and left the area."

Israeli TV said four planes were involved in the overflight and that Assad was home at the time. Officials did not report that the jets came under fire from the Syrians.

The flyover was the second time Israel has buzzed Assad's summer palace. In August 2003, warplanes reportedly flew so low that windows in the palace shattered. At the time, Israel said the flyover was aimed at pressuring Assad to dismantle Palestinian militant groups based in his country.

In October 2003, an Israeli warplanes bombed an Islamic Jihad training base deep in Syria. It was the first attack on Syrian soil in more than two decades. The airstrike followed a suicide bombing by Islamic Jihad that killed 19 Israelis in a restaurant, repors AP.