Pilotless Syrian Plane Downed by Israeli Gunners
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TEL AVIV — Israeli gunners shot down a pilotless Syrian reconnaissance plane on the Israel-Lebanon border at noon Thursday, the military command announced.
The site of the downing and details on the aircraft were not given.
It was the first report of a Syrian reconnaissance flight in the area in more than a year, military sources said.
The Israelis reported numerous downings of Syrian drone aircraft during their 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli pilotless plane was shot down in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in November, 1983.
Israel has frequently flown small drones on photo-reconnaissance missions over Lebanon. Several have been shot down by anti-aircraft units attached to the estimated 30,000 Syrian troops stationed in eastern and northern Lebanon.
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