Report: 'Israeli drone' shot down in Lebanon a Syrian missile

IDF unmanned aircraft shot down along Syria–Lebanon border, media in both countries reported Wednesday. Thursday morning, Lebanese military sources say it was Syrian anti-aircraft missile. No response from Syrian military

Roi Kais|Published: 02.21.13 , 13:19

Conflicting reports from Lebanon and Syria swirl around the announcement of the downing of an unmanned IDF aircraft. Wednesday, media in both countries reported an Israeli drone was shot down as it attempted to enter Syrian airspace and crashed in the area of Rashaya, in the Lebanon Valley.

But Thursday morning Lebanese military sources quoted the Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar which stated that witnesses who reported the incident were mistaken and the "crash" was the fall of an anti-aircraft missile, apparently from Syria.

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The announcement was not verified by Syria, and the IDF has denied knowledge of the incident.

At the same time, there are those who insist on the original version. A Lebanese security official claimed he was in touch with senior officials in Damascus who informed him that the Syrian army shot down two Israeli drones which had attempted to enter the country’s airspace. According to the claim, the shoot downs occurred over the eastern Lebanese mountain ranges, between Der Al-Azhar and Yanta.

The Lebanese newspaper As Safir reported that according to the country’s military, nine Israeli drones entered Lebanese skies over a span of 24 hours.

The first report of an Israeli drone downing came Wednesday night, on the Lebanese news site Elnashra, and it was attributed to a Palestinian security source from the Popular Front organization. This was followed by a report on the government-affiliated Syrian news website Damas Post. There witnesses were quoted saying that they saw burning parts of an aircraft falling in the same area.