Syria apologizes for shooting down plane

ANKARA, Turkey, June 22 (UPI) -- The two men in the crew of a Turkish military plane were rescued after it was shot down Friday in Syrian territorial waters, officials said.

Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan said the Syrian government had taken responsibility for shooting the plane down and had apologized, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The plane, an F-4 jet, left a base in the eastern province of Malatya at 10 a.m., officials said. The military lost contact with it about 2 hours later.