Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has downed the first Syrian Air Force fighter-jet in nearly 30 years.

The Israel Air Force said it shot down a Russian-origin Su-24 combat aircraft on Sept. 23 over the Golan Heights.

The air force said the Syrian warplane was struck by a missile fired by a PAC-2 air and missile defense system.

“The aircraft infiltrated at 08:57 approximately 800 meters into Israeli territory,” the air force said.

“A full minute passed between the moment the decision was made and the order was given and the Sukhoi was shot down.”

Officials said the interception reflected an alert of Syrian infiltration over the Israeli portion of the Golan. They said this marked the first Israeli downing of a Syrian warplane since 1985.

The Su-24 was said to have been sent to attack Sunni rebel positions on the Syrian side of the Golan. The rebels have taken over the Syrian Army base in Quneitra, less than a kilometer away from Israeli-controlled territory.

In August 2014, the air force intercepted a Syrian unmanned aerial vehicle over the Golan. The UAV was also intercepted by a PAC-2 battery.

“Israeli air space is a red line in the defense of the citizens of the state and its property because within a matter of minutes, an enemy fighter jet can reach the center of the country,” the air force said.

“The decision-making process regarding downing an enemy jet that breaches the borders of the state is an orderly process and is practiced a lot in the IAF.”

  PAC-2 missile defense system, Quneitra, Syrian jet fighter entering Israeli air space ordered shot down after ‘full minute’