By
David Blair

The F-4 Phantom, a fighter bomber with a pilot and navigator on board, disappeared over the Mediterranean. All radar and radio contact with the aircraft was lost shortly after it departed from Erhac air base in Turkey's southern province of Malatya.

Some reports suggested that the Phantom's crew were rescued from the Mediterranean, supposedly in international waters, off the Turkish province of Hatay. CNN Turk reported that both men had been found alive.

But Al-Mayadeen, a Lebanon-based television channel, said that Syrian air defences had shot down the plane, allegedly while it was flying over the country's territory.

Turkey is a member of Nato, meaning that it could invoke Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty and summon the aid of all 28 countries in the alliance if it comes under attack. Turkey's government is a strident critic of President Bashar al-Assad's regime and tension has risen along the land border between the two neighbours.

A series of shooting incidents has taken place across this frontier so far this year. The Free Syrian Army, a rebel alliance fighting to overthrow Mr Assad, has a strong presence inside Turkey. The Turkish air force, one of the strongest in the region, conducts regular patrols through the highly
sensitive airspace near Syria.

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9349777/Syria-shoots-down-Turkish-fighter-jet.html