Israel says it strikes Syria, Damascus says soldier killed

BEIRUT — Israel 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 an "Israeli aggression".

"Syrian anti-aircraft systems fired at an IDF fighter jet during a routine flight in northern Israel," an Israeli statement said, adding that the plane was not hit but that the Syrian projectile landed in Israeli territory. 

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-occupied Golan Heights. 

It said one soldier was killed, another injured and a military vehicle damaged. 

Last year, anti-aircraft fire brought down an Israeli jet returning from an air raid in Syria, prompting a wave of Israeli strikes against other targets there. 

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 Hizbollah, which are fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad in Syria's war. 

"Our policy is clear: we are not prepared to tolerate any aggression against us. We will respond forcefully and aggressively," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video released after the incident.