The Israeli military shot down a Syrian fighter jet after it entered Israeli airspace on Tuesday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, raising fears of further military escalation in the region.

The Russian-made Sukhoi jet entered two kilometers into Israeli airspace when two Patriot missiles were launched to intercept the aircraft, the IDF said. The missiles hit the jet once it had crossed back into Syrian airspace, the IDF said, adding that the military did not know what happened to the pilot of the aircraft.

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Six members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have been killed in a battle with government forces backed by the UAE in south-east Yemen.

“The fighting flared up between our forces and a cell affiliated with al-Qaeda in Wadi Sur, in the mountainous chain that stretches between Al Musainya area and the district of Markha to the north of Shabwa,” Col Mohammed Al Bowhar, commander of the elite forces in Shabwa, told The National yesterday.

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At least 11 soldiers were killed in clashes with gunmen in western Iran on Saturday, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Another eight soldiers were injured in the violence that took place in Marivan city in Kordestan province, provincial security chief Reza Mirzaee said.

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Fourteen Daesh terrorists and six Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have been killed in clashes in northern Iraq, according to Peshmerga sources.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, a Peshmerga officer holding the rank of first lieutenant said 14 Daesh terrorists and six Peshmerga fighters had been killed in clashes late Monday during a joint operation being conducted by Peshmerga and Iraqi federal forces.

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Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two largest militant factions in Gaza, said Saturday a ceasefire agreement was reached with Israel following a serious spike in fighting between the two sides over the past 24 hours.

Two hundred projectiles, including rockets and mortars, were fired toward Israel in the previous 24 hours, Israel Defense Forces said. Israel said it carried out what it called its single largest bombing campaign in Gaza since the 2014 war.

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