Turkey scrambles jets to thwart approaching Syria choppers
Air force dispatched Saturday as Assad’s helicopters flew close to border
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIlan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.
Turkey scrambled fighter jets on Saturday to thwart Syrian attack helicopters that approached the border, Turkish media reported on Sunday.
The Turkish F-16s were dispatched “for the purpose of patrolling the area,” near the Syrian-Turkish border south of Hatay, the Turkish military said.
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It said that F-16s took off from air force bases in Incirlik and Batman to intercept Syrian Mi-8 helicopters that came within four miles of the border. At no point did the Syrian helicopters cross into Turkish airspace, and so there was no direct contact.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned last week that any Syrian military unit approaching his border would be treated as a direct threat.
Saturday’s incidents demonstrated Turkey’s increased vigilance along the Syrian border following Syria’s downing of a Turkish Air Force F-4 last month and subsequent mobilization of the Turkish troops to the frontier.
The Times of Israel Community.