Syrian rebels shoot down regime war plane

Ahrar al-Sham says its fighters have shot down a Syrian regime war plane in northern Idlib with a 23mm gun, as the rebel-held province suffers severe bombings.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

04 March, 2017

There is confusion as to whether the plane crashed in Turkey or Syria [Ahrar al-Sham]

Syrian rebels in Idlib province downed a regime war plane on Saturday following what appears to be heavy anti-aircraft fire.

Ahrar al-Sham released a video showing the downing of the Mig-21 - as it nose-dived to the ground - using a 23mm "machine gun" around the northern Idlib countryside.

Pro-Ankara Daily Sabah reported that the plane crashed on the Turkish side of the border and that the pilot ejected safely.

Ahrar al-Sham is part of a Turkish-backed military campaign in Aleppo province fighting Islamic State group militants and Kurdish groups.

It follows a huge bombing campaign against the rebel-held province on Saturday with one medical worker in Idlib reporting a high number of casualties.

"Bombs raining down on us in #Idlib #Syria. Many injured," Dr. Shajul Islam tweeted.

He confirmed that a jet had been downed in a later tweet, while photos from the ground showed smoke billowing from the site.

Others believe a mechanical fault could have caused the plane to malfunction and crash.

Bombing in Syria has decreased since December due to a ceasefire between rebels and the regime.

However, rebel-held Idlib has been continuously bombed by regime, Russian and US war planes during these months.