Amid mounting tensions along the northern border due to rockets and gunfire spilling over from Syria, the Israel Air Force on Sunday afternoon 5 Elul shot down a drone pilotless aircraft that originated in Syria. The drone crossed over the border near Quneitra, downed by an IAF surface-to-air missile.

According to a statement released to the media in English by IDF spokesman Peter Lerner, the drone appears to have strayed into Israel by mistake. Hizbullah reports a visible IAF presence in the area of S. Lebanon following the incident.

Mortar rockets landed in the Golan Heights on shabbos too, once again attributed to spill over from the ongoing warfare between Syrian government and rebel forces.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)