From DEBKAfile September 7, 2007:
Alert declared in Israeli Air and Air Defense Forces after Syria claimed Israeli jets penetrated its air space
Leaves have also been canceled at IDF bases as Israel braces for a possible Syrian reaction to the incident in the coming hours.
Israeli official spokesmen declined to comment on the Syrian News Agency claim that Israeli warplanes entered its air space from the Mediterranean Sea Wednesday night and flew opposite Al Raqqah in northeastern Syria, breaking the sound barrier. Syria fire forced them to leave without causing casualties, says the report.
The Israeli jets "dropped ammunition" over deserted areas of northern Syria early on Thursday, said a Syrian military spokesman. He warned “the Israeli enemy against repeating its aggressive action” and said his government reserved the right to respond in an appropriate manner.
A Western diplomat in Damascus said Thursday night: It appears that the Israeli planes were on a reconnaissance mission when they got caught by Syrian defenses and were forced to drop their bombs and extra fuel tanks.
DEBKAfile military sources speculate that Damascus may be seeking to raise military temperatures already high between the two countries for its own purposes, or else fabricating a pretext to go on the offensive directly against Israeli targets on the Golan or indirectly through its allies.
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