Turkey scrambles fighting jets to intercept Syrian planes

Turkey scrambled two F-16 fighter jets in order to intercept two Syrian aircraft that approached Turkish airspace, a Turkish military statement said on Friday. A Syrian SU-24 plane approached to Turkey's border region, according to the written statement issued by the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. Two Turkish F-16 planes headed to Turkish-Syrian border for interception, and the Syrian plane moved away only five sea miles to Turkish border, said the statement. Similar incidents have taken place since a Turkish plane was shot down in 2012 by Syrian army when the plane reportedly violated the Syrian airspace, according to local media. A Turkish F-16 jet shot down a Syrian MI-17 attack helicopter in September, saying it made a 2 km incursion into its airspace ignoring warnings. Turkey, once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but now a leading voice urging his ouster, shelters more than 500,000 Syrian refugees and has reportedly provided Syrian rebel army leaders with sanctuary.