Turkish air force shoots down Syrian aircraft for violating airspace

The Turkish air force has shot down a Syrian airplane for violating the country’s airspace, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

While Erdogan congratulated the military for shooting down the aircraft, the move drew anger and derision by Syria.

The incident happened on Sunday, with the plane crashing near the Syrian town of Kasab on the Turkish border after it was targeted by F16s.

Syria has since condemned the action as "unprecedented and unjustifiable".

"A Syrian plane violated our airspace. Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard," Erdogan said.

The Syrian state news agency SANA reported the foreign ministry as protesting against Turkish "interference" in the province of Latakia, which has witnessed heavy fighting in recent days.

In a statement the foreign ministry said Turkey's "blatant aggression against Syrian sovereignty in the Kasab border region over the past two days proves its implication in the events in Syria."

The plane had allegedly been striking areas in Latakia in pursuit of rebels.