Turkey scrambles fighter jets to intercept Iranian aircraft

Turkey scrambled two F-16 to intercept an Iranian military plane that briefly crossed into Turkish airspace, bordering Iran.
The Iranian reconnaissance plane violated Turkey's airspace on Saturday for 20 seconds and left the area after the military dispatched F-16s to intercept it.
Turkish Air Force also conducted patrols with F-16 fighter on the Turkey-Syria border on Saturday.
Tensions between Turkish and Syrian forces have occasionally flared up since the start of the civil war in the country. When Syria shot down a Turkish jet in June 2012, Turkey changed its rules of engagement and warned that it would strike Syrian warplanes that approached the Turkish border. Turkey shot down a Syrian jet in late March after it violated Turkish airspace on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Last month, two jet fighters were scrambled to intercept a Syrian military helicopter approaching the border of Hatay province. The military said in a statement that a Syrian MI-8 helicopter turned back 0.9 nautical miles from the Turkish-Syrian border as Turkish F-16 fighters approached.
Under Turkey's new rules of engagement, any Syrian military unit approaching the border is considered a threat.
todayszaman