DHAKA: Syria has admitted that its helicopter shot down on Monday was in Turkish airspace but accused Ankara of being ‘hasty’ in attacking the aircraft.

However, Bulent Arinc, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, said the helicopter was shot down after it had travelled two kilometres into Turkish airspace and had been repeatedly warned.

The Syrian army said the helicopter had been monitoring ‘terrorists’ crossing the border.

‘The hasty response from the Turkish side, especially as the aircraft was on its way back and was not charged with any combat missions, is proof of the true intentions of Erdogan’s government toward Syria to increase tensions and escalate the situation on the border between the two countries,’ an army statement reported by the state news agency on Monday night said, according to gulfnews.com.

Arinc’s comments came after hours of confusion in which the helicopter, sometimes described as a bomber jet, was variously reported to have been brought down by Turkish forces and rebels operating within Syria.

‘No one will again dare to violate Turkish borders in any way,’ Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, said.

The Turkish general staff, in a statement, added that the Syrian helicopter was shot down in Turkish airspace but landed in Syrian territory.

Its downing is only the latest in a long stream of bloody incidents involving Syria and Turkey along a chaotic and often bloody 900km border.

BDST: 2058 HRS, SEPT 17, 2013
RoR/RIS