DAMASCUS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army said Israel targeted a Syrian warplane that was striking positions of terrorist groups in southern Syria Tuesday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
The warplane was struck while hitting the positions of the ultra-radical rebels in the town of Saida on the outskirts of the Yarmouk basin area in the western countryside of Daraa near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The report noted that the warplane was flying inside the Syrian airspace.
The report has yet to divulge the fate of the warplane.
Meanwhile, Israel army said its air defenses intercepted a Sukhoi plane after penetrating the Golan Heights, adding that two Patriot missiles were launched at the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet which penetrated two km into northern Israel.
Activists said that the warplane landed in the Yarmouk basin area.
The pro-government Al-Ekhbariah TV said Syrian army captured all areas between Daraa and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights except areas under the Islamic State (IS) group's control that are estimated at 50 square km.
The Syrian Observatory for Human said the Yarmouk basin, where the IS hold 30,000 civilians as human shields, has been hit by 2,200 airstrikes since a week ago.
