A United States F-16 fighter jet flew into Syrian airspace mistakenly while on a flight to northern Iraq, a US Air Force spokesman in Turkey said on Tuesday.
The plane, on a mission Monday out of the Turkish base at Incirlik, in the southern part of the country, deviated from its course and "inadvertently entered Syria", according to Major Scott Covode.
"It was recalled by US controllers as soon as they determined the plane was off course," he said.
"We regret the accidental in-flight border crossing," he added, according to AFP.
United States planes fly close to the Turkish-Syrian border on their way to northern Iraq where they enforce a no-fly zone.
In addition, Covode said Iraqi forces had fired at coalition planes enforcing the northern Iraq no-fly zone on Monday, without hitting them. The fighters did not return fire, he further stated.
Iraq, for its part, said on Monday, it had fired missiles and anti-aircraft guns at US and British planes in northern Iraq, forcing them "to withdraw". (Albawaba.com)
