Bashar al-Jaafari, Syrian chief negotiator and Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of Syria to the United Nations speaks to journalists after the talks on Syria in Vienna on January 26, 2018. (AFP Photo)

DAMASCUS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad hailed Iran's role in supporting Syria in the face of foreign aggression and in the face of the U.S. scheme in the region.

At dawn Saturday, the Syrian air defenses fired anti-aircraft missiles against Israeli airstrikes which targeted an airbase in the central province of Homs on the pretext that an Iranian drone was sent from the base and infiltrated the Israeli airspace.

Israeli media said an Israeli F-16 was hit and crashed in northern Israel by the Syrian anti-aircraft missiles.

The downing of an Israeli warplane has created a precedent during Syria's nearly seven-year-long war, as the Syrian government always responded to Israel's military attacks with condemnation and retaliation vows.

The incident marked the first time that an Israeli warplane has been shot down since the downing of an Israeli F-14 in 1986 over Lebanon.