A an Airbus A320 operated by Syrian Air has been forced to land in Turkey with 35 passengers onboard while en route from Moscow to Damascus.

Turkish military officials sent jets to intercept the plan, forcing it to land in Ankara.

Turkey said the aircraft was carrying “illegal cargo”, thought to be weapons.

Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said “objectionable” materials had been confiscated from the plane.

However, it has since been allowed to leave.

Tension between Turkey and Syria has been high since five Turkish civilians were killed last week by mortar bombs.

Unconfirmed reports said the confiscated cargo included boxes of military communication equipment.

The Airbus A320 airliner had about 30 passengers on board, far fewer than its 180 passenger capacity.