Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan voices 'wrath' over downed jet - Telegraph.co.uk

"If they were to hit a Turkish aeroplane a second time, it could cause a war between the two countries," he said. "But I don't believe the Syrians want a war. They know that what they did was really risky."

Earlier this year, a series of shooting incidents took place along the border. Syrian troops repeatedly fired at targets inside Turkey, claiming at least one life. At the time, however, the Turkish army did not react. Under the new rules of engagement, retaliation would probably be authorised.

"If Syrian soldiers try to organise a cross border attack or try to hit targets within Turkey like they did a few months ago, then the Turkish army will hit targets in Syria," said Mr Ozdag.

Turkish officials concede the F-4 briefly entered Syrian airspace, but the crew are said to have realised their mistake and changed course accordingly. A missile then destroyed the aircraft as it flew over the Mediterranean.

At first, Mr Erdogan declined to condemn Syria, waiting for the facts to be established. Yesterday he said: "Our mild manners do not mean we are a tame lamb. Everybody should know that Turkey's wrath is just as strong and devastating as its friendship is valuable."

By shooting down the jet, Syria had exposed itself to greater pressure, said Anthony Cordesman, head of strategy at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"Syria has almost invited Turkey to become even more proactive against it and against the Assad regime. Erdogan is not someone who's famous for backing down," he said.

Turkey, a member of Nato, invoked Article IV of the North Atlantic Treaty, convening the alliance's ambassadors in Brussels to discuss the incident. This move fell short of triggering Article V, which binds all Nato members to defend any that are attacked.

After the meeting, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary general, described the "unacceptable" shooting down of the jet as "another example of the Syrian authorities' disregard for international norms, peace, security and human life".

Inside Syria, heaving fighting took place in the suburbs of Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London based group, said the army had fought insurgents only five miles from the city centre. At least 86 people were reported to have been killed across the country yesterday.

Kofi Annan, the international envoy to Syria, is trying to organise a peace conference for Saturday which would include the Security Council and regional countries, notably Iran.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, indicated that he would attend and stated Iran's participation was crucial to the success of a meeting, but Britain and America publicly oppose Tehran's involvement.