Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey has continued to intercept Syrian warplanes.

Officials said Syria and Turkey have engaged in dogfights over their mutual border. They said the confrontations have focused on control of the air space over northern Syria, which contains Al Qaida militias.

“The Syrians are increasingly using their air defense systems to threaten Turkish fighter-jets,” an official said.

On Jan. 30, the Syrian Air Force tracked a Turkish F-16 multi-role fighter in southern Turkey. The Turkish military said Syrian air defense systems locked their radar onto the F-16 during a routine flight over the southern province of Hatay.

“The radar lock was on for 30 seconds,” the Turkish military said.

On Jan. 9, the Turkish Air Force intercepted a Syrian warplane near their mutual border. The military said two U.S.-origin F-16 multi-role fighters scrambled to confront a Syrian Air Force Su-24 combat aircraft.

“The two F-16 jets scrambled to the border with Syria after it was
detected that the Syrian Su-24 plane was heading east of the Cilvegozu
border located in a southeastern province of Syria,” the Turkish General
Staff said.

So far, no fire was reported in the latest incidents. In September 2013,
the Turkish Air Force shot down a Syrian helicopter that entered Turkish air
space.

Turkey also reported being tracked by Greece. On Jan. 31, the Turkish
military said two Hellenic Air Force F-16s placed a radar lock on a Turkish
maritime patrol aircraft during a flight over the disputed Aegean Sea. This
marked one of the first times that the Hellenic Air Force activated its
missile defense system against a Turkish aircraft.

“The radar lock [on the Turkish aircraft] last 1 minute, 19 seconds,”
the military said.

  Hatay Province, Syrian Air Force Su-24s, Turkish-Syrian fighter-jet dogfights reported near border, U.S.-origin F-16 multi-role fighters