Israel's military said it attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft position that fired on one of its warplanes on Monday, and Syrian state media reported that a soldier had been killed in what it called "Israeli aggression."
A statement from the IDF said that earlier Monday a Syrian anti-aircraft system fired at one of its aircraft "as it was carrying out a routine flight in Israel. The projectile landed in Syrian territory. In response, we targeted the Syrian launcher that was responsible for firing it."
The IDF "sees any threat against its aircraft with great severity and takes measures to defend them."
A Syrian military source was cited by state news agency SANA as saying "the Israeli enemy targeted one of our military positions" in Quneitra province, which is adjacent to the Israeli Golan Heights.
It said one soldier was killed, another wounded and a military vehicle damaged.
The back-to-back statements come amid heightened regional tension over Iran's role in Syria and other parts of the Middle East. They also follow a number of reported Israeli strikes on Syria in the past ten days, according to state-run media.
Israel has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes in recent years to curtail the influence of its arch-foe Iran and Tehran's Lebanese ally, the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which are fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad in Syria's war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement shortly after Monday's incident that the Syrian army "tried to harm an Israeli plane, it didn't succeed."
"Our policy is clear – we are not prepared to tolerate any aggression against us, we will retaliate against it forcefully and decisively," the statement said.
