Israel Shoots Down Syrian Warplane After Flight Over Golan

Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet after it flew over the Golan Heights, the Israeli army said today, the first such incident in almost 30 years and the neighbors’ most serious clash since the start of Syria’s civil war.

The Sukhoi fighter was downed by a U.S.-made Patriot missile fired by Israeli military personnel, and the crew ejected over Syrian territory across the Golan frontier, the Israeli army said. The attack came as the U.S. launched its first airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Syria in a major expansion of its campaign to defeat the militants.