JERUSALEM – An Israeli F16 fighter jet crashed in Israel Saturday as theair force was carrying out attacks against “Iranian targets” in Syria afterintercepting a drone, a spokesman said.

“IDF (Israel Defence Force) has targeted the Iranian control systems inSyria that sent the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) into Israeli airspace.

Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe,”Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Jonathan Conricus wrote on Twitter.

According to a separate military statement, Israeli forces had identifiedan “Iranian UAV” launched from Syria and intercepted it in Israeli airspacewith a combat helicopter.

Police said the F16 crashed in the Jezreel valley in northern Israel.

“Iran is responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty,”Conricus said on Twitter. – AFP