World

Turkey Forces Syrian Plane To Land

Yes, the two nations are getting a bit testy

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Turkey sharply escalated its confrontation with Syria on Wednesday, forcing a Syrian passenger plane to land in Ankara on suspicion of carrying military cargo, pre-emptively banning Turkish planes from Syrian airspace and warning of increasingly forceful armed responses if Syrian artillery gunners keep lobbing shells across the border.

Turkey's NTV television said Turkish warplanes were scrambled to force a Syrian A-320 Airbus jetliner with 35 passengers en route from Moscow to Damascus to land at Ankara's Esenboga Airport because it may have been carrying a weapons shipment to the Syrian government.