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Executive Summary for February 12th

We review the key developments in Syria, including the downing of an Israeli warplane, Kurdish fighters shooting down a Turkish helicopter and reports claiming the Syrian government provided ISIS with a corridor into rebel-held parts of southern Idlib.

Published on Feb. 12, 2018 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Syria Downs Israeli Aircraft After Strike Targets Army Base

Syrian anti-aircraft fire on Saturday downed an Israeli fighter jet that had carried out strikes against Iranian-backed forces in Syria, the New York Times reported.

The pilots survived but the downing of the F-16 fighter jet marked the first time in more than 30 years that Israel has lost an aircraft to enemy fire. The warplane, which crashed in northern Israel, was shot down after it attacked what Israel said was a command-and-control center at a Syrian airbase near Palmyra.

Israel believes that Iranian-backed forces had used the base to launch a drone that penetrated Israeli airspace on Saturday. Iran, however, has denied those claims. The attack on the base in Palmyra marks the first time since the start of the conflict that Israel has struck a site where Iranian forces were present, the NYT said, citing analysts.

The downing of the fighter jet on Saturday prompted Israel to launch a second wave of air raids, hitting what it said were 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including three Syrian aerial defense batteries and four Iranian positions, the NYT said. Citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Reuters said Saturday’s strikes had killed at least six pro-Syrian fighters.

“This is the broadest attack on Syria’s defense systems since (Operation) Peace for the Galilee,” Israeli air force Brigadier-General Amnon Ein Dar told Army Radio, referring to Israel’s 1982 Lebanon offensive, in which it fought Syrian forces, according to Reuters.

Saturday’s confrontation threatens to drag Israel into further confrontation with Iranian and Syrian government forces in Syria.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah said on Saturday that the downing of the fighter jet marked the “start of a new strategic phase,” which would limit Israel’s breaches of Syrian airspace, the NYT said. Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would not be deterred from carrying out further attacks despite the loss of the F-16 fighter jet, according to the Associated Press.

“Yesterday we dealt severe blows to the Iranian and Syrian forces,” Netanyahu said. “We made it unequivocally clear to everyone that our rules of action have not changed one bit. We will continue to strike at every attempt to strike at us. This has been our policy and it will remain our policy.”

Kurdish Forces Down Turkish Helicopter in Northern Syria

The Kurdish YPG militia in Syria downed a Turkish helicopter near the Kurdish enclave of Afrin on Saturday, killing two Turkish soldiers aboard the aircraft, the Associated Press reported.

The incident marked the first officially confirmed loss of a Turkish aircraft over Syria since the start of the conflict.

Another nine Turkish soldiers were killed that same day during clashes with Kurdish fighters near Afrin, the military said.

The loss of a total of 11 Turkish troops makes Saturday the single deadliest day for Ankara since it launched an operation against the YPG in northern Syria on January 20. A total of 31 Turkish troops, including one soldier who was killed in clashes near Afrin on Sunday, have died since the start of “Operation Olive Branch.”

Meanwhile, at least 148 YPG fighters and 157 Syrian opposition fighters have been killed in three weeks of fighting, the AP said, citing the SOHR.

ISIS Clashes with Rebels in Idlib

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian rebels are accusing the Syrian government of providing the so-called Islamic State with a corridor into rebel-held parts of southern Idlib, Reuters reported on Friday.

The SOHR claimed that pro-government forces had allowed ISIS fighters safe exit from a besieged pocket of territory at the intersection of Aleppo, Idlib and Hama provinces.

SOHR director Rami Abdulrahman said that pro-government fighters had launched an operation against ISIS militants in this besieged pocket seven days ago. “Suddenly they were able to take 80 villages and towns after giving them [ISIS] a corridor,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

According to Reuters, Hasan Haj Ali, commander of the Free Idlib Army (FIA) rebel group, confirmed the report and said that FIA rebels were engaging in battles with 200 ISIS militants who had arrived in southern Idlib on Friday.

Haj Ali said that ISIS militants entered the region with at least six armored vehicles.

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