ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed yesterday to have dealt “severe blows” to Iranian and Syrian forces, talking tough following the downing of an Israeli jet by Syria’s anti-aircraft defences.

Tel Aviv launched a wave of air raids against Syria on Saturday, supposedly after intercepting an Iranian drone. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least six Syrian soldiers and allied militia fighters had been killed in the strikes.

The bombers came under anti-aircraft fire and one F-16 crash-landed in northern Israel after being struck by a missile — the first time an Israeli plane has been shot down in a war zone since 1982.