Israeli military says missiles fire at drone from Syria

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says it fired two missiles at a drone that crossed into its airspace from neighboring Syria.

The military says two missiles from its Patriot air defense system were launched at the drone over the Golan Heights. The military says the drone returned to Syria.

Israel has shot down Syrian aircraft in the past. In 2014, it brought down a Syrian drone and fighter jet that had entered its airspace on two separate occasions.

Israel has avoided taking sides in the Syrian civil war, though Israeli troops have responded to occasional mortar fire that landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan. Israel is also widely believed to have struck targets linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Syria.