People inspect damage to a building in the besieged town of Douma, eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria on February 11, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh.

The European Union’s executive on Monday said warring Syrian parties and their regional allies should show restraint to avoid a further spiral of violence in the region.

In the most serious confrontations yet between Israel and Iranian-backed forces in Syria, anti-aircraft fire downed an Israeli warplane returning from Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on Saturday after an Iranian drone infiltrated Israeli airspace.

“The military escalation throughout Syria, including the events we have seen on the Israeli border over the weekend, is deeply worrying. It could indeed lead to a dangerous spillover,” a spokeswoman for the European Commission told a regular press briefing.

“We urge the Syrian parties, their allies, as well as the regional actors to abide by international law, to show restraint, and avoid actions that further escalate the situation and prolong the suffering of Syrian civilians,” she said, adding that the Commission was monitoring the situation closely.