(Newser)
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Turkey acknowledges its F-4 Phantom may have crossed into Syrian airspace briefly, but it left immediately and had been back in international airspace for 15 minutes when Syria shot it down Friday, reports the BBC. "According to our conclusions, our plane was shot down in international airspace, 13 nautical miles from Syria," says Turkey's foreign minister. International airspace begins 12 miles from Syria's coastline. The Syrian military claims it shot the F-4 just a half-mile from its coast. Turkey's state television announced this morning that the jet had been located in the Mediterranean, which could help tell the tale.
Turkey is calling for a NATO meeting on Tuesday regarding the shootdown, citing NATO's Article 4, which allows for consultations when "the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the Parties is threatened." UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned Syria, calling the shooting "outrageous." (For a little background, Foreign Policy has an amusing post about running a radar unit in the Syrian military, noting how just turning it on was called "The Suicide Order").
