Syrian Passenger Plane Forced To Land In Turkey

Turkish fighter jets have forced a Syrian passenger plane suspected of carrying weapons to land in Ankara.

Military communications devices were reportedly confiscated before the plane was allowed to leave hours later.

The Airbus A320 airliner was travelling from Moscow to Damascus with 35 passengers - far fewer than its 180 passenger capacity - and two crew.

Turkey's foreign minister said Ankara was determined to stop any transfer of weapons to Syria through its airspace.
Tensions have been high since five Turkish civilians were killed by Syrian mortar fire last week, prompting Turkey to fire into Syria for the first time since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 19 months ago.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkey's top military commander warned Syria that Ankara would respond with greater force if Syria continued its cross-border shelling.

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