(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-10-07 20:38

DAMASCUS, Syria - A small Syrian military plane crashed south of Damascus on Sunday, killing three people, witnesses at the scene said.

The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the small plane appeared to be on a training exercise when it crashed at 9:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) in an empty field in Moaddamiyeh, a mostly residential district 14 kilometers (9 miles) south of the Syrian capital.

Three people who were on board the plane were killed in the crash, the witnesses said. The Damascus correspondent for the pan-Arab Al-Arabiya TV station, whose offices are located close to the crash area, said employees did not hear the crash, suggesting the plane was small. He said the plane was "very quickly" taken away from the scene.

There was no immediate confirmation or comment from government officials in Syria, who rarely comment on military issues.

Syria has been jittery since a September 6 Israeli air raid northeast of the country near the Turkish border. Syrian President Bashar Assad said late last week that the raid struck an unused military building. Israel has not said what the target was.

The incident  - fueled by the official silence from both Syria and Israel - has sparked furious and conflicting reports in the foreign press, claiming that Israel attacked an arms shipment to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon or a nuclear installation built, or that the mission was an attempt to gauge Syria's air defenses.

Later in September, Israel dispatched several fighter jets toward its border with Syria after a Syrian aircraft disappeared from Israeli air force radar screens.

According to Israeli military officials at the time, the Israeli jets, which did not enter Syrian airspace, returned to their bases minutes later when it became clear the Syrian airplane had crashed. Syria did not comment on that incident.