Anti-aircraft fire was used by Turkish forces against the Syrian jet, which was bombing rebels attempting to gain control of the Kasab border crossing, AFP reported.
       
According to the NGO Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, ”Turkish air defenses targeted a Syrian fighter bomber as it struck areas of the northern province of Latakia. The plane caught fire and crashed in Syrian territory.”
 
The plane was targeted after it entered Turkish airspace, but that has not been confirmed by the Turkish government, according to Turkish media reports cited by Hurriyet Daily News.
 
The battle for Kasab, a town with a large Armenian community near the Turkish border, has been raging for three days, and has involved an increasing number of both government and rebel troops, including forces affiliated with al-Qaeda, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
 
Rebels have been on the offensive since Friday. Syrian state television quoted an unnamed military official as saying that government forces inflicted “heavy losses” among rebels. State TV said the rebels entered Syria from Turkey.
 
The Observatory also reported heavy fighting in the contested northern city of Aleppo, which is divided between rebel and government forces.
 
The Turkish-Syrian border has seen several instances of cross-border fire and altercations since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. Ankara has maintained support for the opposition, kept its border open and allowed hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees into Turkish territory. It is widely believed that several Syrian opposition groups maintain bases of operation in the Turkish border region.
 
 
The Associated Press contributed to this report.