ISIS Militants Shoots Down US-Coalition War Plane In Troubled Syria

Islamic State (IS) militants have shot down a US-led coalition warplane over northern Syria, activists say. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the aircraft, believed to be from an Arab state, went down near Raqqa. The UK-based group said the fate of the pilot was unknown, but IS supporters published photos they said showed a Jordanian airman surrounded by gunmen. The man appeared able to stand but was bleeding from the mouth. He was wearing only a T-shirt and underwear.

The authorities in Jordan, one of four Arab countries whose aircraft have been flying sorties over Syria, has so far not commented on the incident.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says that assuming the reports are true and they have not been denied - they will raise concern among the coalition nations about the level of armament available to the militants and the defensive measures deployed by coalition jets. It may further diminish the appetite of Arab nations to take part in such operation, our correspondent adds.

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and UK have joined the US in conducting air strikes on IS in neighbouring Iraq.

Source: BBC