Islamic State group shoots down Syrian regime war plane

A Syrian regime was plane was shot down by Islamic State group militants on Sunday, the group's affiliate news agency, Amaq reported.

The jet plummeted in the eastern Syrian city of Deir az-Zour, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pilot was killed.

"A Syrian warplane belonging to the Syrian regime was brought down when targeted by fighters from the Islamic State in the city of Deir al-Zor," Amaq said in an online statement.

The Syrian regime confirmed the reports shortly after they emerged online.

The MiG jet came down in the Jebel Tharda area close to the regime's Deir az-Zour military air base, which made headlines a day earlier when the US-led coalition struck the airport.

On Saturday, the Pentagon said that coalition pilots had mistakenly bombed the regime army, killing dozens of troops on Jebel Tharda.

Pilots halted the raid as soon as Damascus-ally Moscow informed commanders that army positions were coming under attack.

Damascus has reacted angrily to the deadly strike, which forced troops to pull back from two strategic hilltops overlooking the besieged airbase on the outskirts of the city.

At least 90 Syrian soldiers were killed in the 40-minute "friendly fire" raid, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday.

Deir az-Zour's airport and some surrounding regime-controlled districts have been entirely encircled by the Islamic State group for more than a year.