Syrian warplane crashes near Swaida province

A Syrian warplane crashed Friday during a training mission near the southern province of Swaida, the state news agency SANA reported.

The search for the missing pilot has started after the plane crashed in the countryside of Swaida, SANA added.

However, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the war jet was shot down by the Islamic State (IS) militants near Swaida.

Several warplanes had been shot down by the rebels throughout the long-running crisis in Syria as the rebels were said to have obtained anti-airplane missiles.

Meanwhile, SANA said the Syrian air force on Friday targeted the militants' positions in three towns in the countryside of the northwestern city of Idlib, which fell to the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front late last month.

It added dozens of militants were killed by the airstrikes in Idlib.

Local media recently said the Syrian army was to unleash an operation to retake Idlib, while the opposition activists claimed the rebels were closing in on the last remaining government positions in the countryside of Idlib. Endit