SYRIA:Syria yesterday said it had forced Israeli aircraft out of Syrian airspace after they had "dropped ammunition" over the desert.
The claim comes after several months of shifting and sometimes tense relations between Israel and Syria.
A Syrian military spokesman was quoted on the state news agency as saying that, shortly after midnight, the Israeli aircraft had crossed into northeast Syria from the Mediterranean, close to the Turkish border.
Reports said the incident happened near al-Abyad, close to the border.
"Air defence units confronted them and forced them to leave after they dropped some ammunition in deserted areas without causing any human or material damage," the spokesman said.
"We warn the Israeli enemy government against this flagrant aggressive act, and retain the right to respond in an appropriate way."
It was not clear what exactly the aircraft had dropped and the Syrian news agency did not say any targets had been hit.
"We are a sovereign country. They cannot do that," said Buthaina Shaaban, a Syrian cabinet minister.
The Israeli military said it had no comment on the incident. "We cannot discuss military operations," a spokesman said.
A White House spokesman also declined to comment.
Israeli aircraft frequently fly over Lebanon, sometimes breaking the sound barrier, and operate on training missions in Turkey. But flights over Syria are less commonly acknowledged, although Israeli aircraft flew into Syrian airspace last summer, after the capture of an Israeli soldier near Gaza, and again at the start of the war with Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Israel's military does monitor activities near the Golan Heights, but yesterday's incident occurred a considerable distance away.