Turkey shoots down Syrian military jet, PM calls it a 'hard slap'

Turkey has shot down a Syrian fighter plane after it allegedly strayed into Turkish airspace despite repeated warnings to stay away.

14:59 24 March 2014

A MIG-23 Syrian military jet was shot down after it allegedly violated Turkish airspace. According to reports, the jet refused to leave despite repeated warnings to stay away.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard."

Mr Erdogan also congratulated his military for defending the border during his speech at a political rally.

Meanwhile, Syria has condemned the action as “blatant aggression” and said the jet was battling rebel fighters within its own territory. The aircraft crashed around 1.2km into the Syrian territory. Meanwhile, there are reports that the pilot was able to eject before the explosion.

Syrian rebels have been fighting pro-Assad fighters since Friday for control of the Kasab crossing in the northwest of the country.

This week Syria has accused Turkey of firing shells into the country to provide cover for the rebels.

Six months ago, a similar incident occurred when Turkey shot down a Syrian helicopter, which crossed the airspace in the same area.