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Syria 'shoots down Israeli aircraft' in disputed Golan Heights Israel denies claim Syrian forces shot down its aircraft in disputed Golan Heights
(35 minutes later)
Syrian forces have shot down an Israeli military aircraft, according to state media. Israel has denied the Syrian government's claim to have shot down an Israeli fighter jet and drone following strikes and counter-strikes between the two countries.
Bashar al-Assad's defence ministry reportedly announced the downing near Quneitra on Tuesday morning. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) immediately refuted the report, saying a Syrian anti-aircraft battery had shot at its aircraft but missed their target.
The largely abandoned town lies in the disputed Golan Heights region, which has exchanged hands between Syria and Israel in a sucession of wars. "Early this morning, two missiles were launched from Syria after the IAF targeted Syrian artillery positions," a spokesperson said. "IDF aircraft were not harmed."
It is currently under the control of the Syrian government but sits inside a United Nations "disengagement observer force zone". Bashar al-Assad's defence ministry issued a conflicting statement on Tuesday morning saying two aircraft were downed in Quneitra Governorate at 1am local time.
More to follow Officials said they were responding to “naked aggression [by the] Zionist enemy, supporting armed terrorist groups in a desperate attempt to raise morale that collapsed after heavy losses incurred in the Quneitra region”.
Quneitra borders Israel, Jordan and Lebanon and includes the disputed Golan Heights region, which has exchanged hands between Syria and Israel in a succession of wars.
Much of the region was seized by rebels in 2014 after battles with the Syrian Arab Army and remains split between government and opposition control, sitting inside a United Nations monitoring zone.
Tuesday's dispute came hours after Israel announced its fighter jets had struck artillery positions manned by Syrian regime troops after a mortar landed in the Golan Heights.
The was the fifth since last week in which fighting in Syria has spilled over into Israel, and the first since a fragile truce brokered by the US and Russia came into effect. 
Israel has largely remained on the sidelines of the fighting along its border, but has carried out reprisals on Syrian positions when errant fire has previously landed in Israel. 
The IDF is also widely believed to have carried out airstrikes on arms shipments destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a close ally of President Assad. 
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six Day War of 1967, before Syrian forces led an unsuccessful counter-offensive in 1973, and Israel effectively annexed the vast majority of the territory in 1981.
The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was set up to monitor a ceasefire established in the territory but fighting between the Syrian regime and rebels has frequently spilled over into the demilitarised area since 2012, sparking Israeli air strikes in Syrian territory.