MOSCOW, July 25 (Itar-Tass) - RIA Novosti. The Syrian plane, shot down on the eve of the Air Defense of Israel, was a Su-22 fighter-bomber, a source in the command of the Syrian army told RIA Novosti.

The pilot, who ran it, died, the agency interlocutor specified.

The Israeli embassy in Moscow specified that the military used a communication channel with Russia before taking action against the plane to make sure it was not Russian.

The border dispute

According to the Israeli military, a Syrian fighter for two kilometers entered the airspace controlled by the Jewish state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Damascus grossly violated the agreements on separation between Syria and Israel from 1974.

"We will not tolerate any such violations, as well as" overflows "on our side of military operations on the ground or in the air," the politician stressed.

The Syrian military, in turn, argue that the aircraft was carrying out a combat mission against terrorists and did not cross the border.

The press service of the Armed Forces of Israel reported that for the past several days they kept forces on the border with Syria in high alert and repeatedly warned the neighboring state about the inadmissibility of crossing the border.

"Over the past few days, we have seen the movement of large Syrian forces in areas close to our borders," said one of the leaders of the army press service, Jonathan Konricus.

He added that during the day, warnings were given through various channels in different languages ​​to avoid misunderstandings.

Official representative of the UN Secretary General Stefan Dujarrik stated that the world organization is monitoring the development of the situation around the Syrian aircraft, shot down by Israel.

Conflict between the two countries

The territorial conflict between Syria and Israel due to the status of the Golan Heights has been going on for many years. The Israeli military has repeatedly struck at objects in Syria, explaining their actions by the desire to prevent modern weapons from falling into the hands of the enemies. First of all, we are talking about the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, which is fighting in the region on the side of Bashar Assad.

So, on Sunday the Syrian agency SANA reported that the Israeli Air Force attacked a military facility in the city of Masjaf in Syria. Last week, the positions of the Syrian army were also subjected to a missile attack. It happened to the north of Neirab airbase. No harm done.

On the night of July 12, Israeli aircraft dealt rocket attacks on targets of government forces in the province of Quneitra. However, the Syrian air defense complexes repulsed the attack.

A few days before, the Syrian media reported that the Israeli Air Force attacked the Tifor (T-4) airbase in Homs province. Air defense systems repulsed the attack and, it was alleged, even shot down an Israeli aircraft. The IDF refused to comment on the information about possible involvement in the incident.