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Syria Admits Shooting Down Turkish Warplane

Syria has admitted it shot down a Turkish fighter jet over the Mediterranean, raising tensions between the neighbouring countries.

Ankara warned it would respond "decisively" once it had full details of the incident, which saw the plane downed off the coast of Syria around seven miles from the village of Om al Toyour.

The Syrian military claims the jet was flying low, less than a mile from the shore and well inside the country's territorial waters when they opened fire on it.

With the second biggest army in Nato , Turkey would be a formidable foe for a Syrian army that is already struggling to quash a 16-month-old revolt.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan 's initial comments and subsequent statement on the downing of the F-4 jet were measured in tone.

He said Turkish and Syrian forces were working together to search for the two missing crew of the aircraft.

"Turkey will present its final stance after the incident has been fully brought to light and decisively take the necessary steps," his statement said.

The comments followed a two-hour emergency meeting between the prime minister, the chief of general staff, the defence, interior and foreign ministers, the head of national intelligence and the commander of the air force.

Turkish media had reported earlier that Syria had apologised for the incident but Erdogan made no mention of any apology.

Violence raged unabated inside Syria, which appears to be sliding into a sectarian-tinged civil war pitting majority Sunni Muslims against Mr Assad's minority Alawite sect.

Turkey fears the fighting, if unchecked, could unleash a flood of refugees over its own border and ignite regional sectarian conflict.

Ankara, which had drawn close to Syria before the uprising against Mr Assad , turned against the Syrian leader when he responded violently to pro-democracy protests inspired by popular upheavals elsewhere in the Arab world.

Turkey now gives refuge to the rebel Free Syrian Army on its frontier with Syria.