The Turkish military announced that it has shot down a Syrian plane that strayed over its air space, ratcheting up tensions along the border where Syrian rebels mix with refugees and are sheltered by the Turkish government. Reuters: Turkey's armed forces shot down a Syrian plane on Sunday after it crossed into Turkish air space in a border region where Syrian rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces. "A Syrian plane violated our airspace," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told an election rally of his supporters in northwest Turkey. "Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard," The rebels have been fighting for control of the Kasab crossing, the border region, since Friday, when they launched an offensive which Syrian authorities say was backed by Turkey's military. Syria said Turkish air defenses shot down the jet while it was attacking rebel...(Read Full Post)