ANKARA
Syrian missile air defense "harassed" a Turkish F-16 fighter jet on patrol in southern province of Hatay bordering Syria, according to a statement by the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces on Monday.
The Turkish F-16 jet was put under radar lock by Syria's missile system for four to five minutes while it was in Turkish airspace, said the statement.
The harassment comes after a Syrian warplane violated Turkey's airspace and was shot down by F-16 pilots on Sunday. The jet went down near the northwestern Syrian town of Kasab amid ongoing clashes along the Turkish-Syrian border.
The Turkish foreign ministry has said that the Syrian regime has not adhered to the Turkey-Syria Border Commission meetings protocol, signed May 9, 1971, which bans aircraft from either side getting any closer than five kilometers to their shared border.
Meanwhile, Syria shot down a Turkish warplane in 2012 after it reportedly violated the Syrian airspace and Turkey downed a Syrian MI-17 attack helicopter last September, saying it made a 2-km incursion into its airspace.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
