3rd LD: 25 killed in warplane crash in Syria's Idlib

At least 25 people were killed and tens of others wounded when a Syrian warplane crashed over a marketplace in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, activists reported.

The war jet crashed over a popular marketplace in the town of Ariha in the countryside of Idlib, much of which fell recently to the so-called Jaish al-Fateh, or the Conquer Army, an alliance of several jihadi groups, mainly the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

Activists said the Jaish al-Fateh downed the warplane by anti-aircraft missiles, adding that the destiny of the pilot fighter is still unknown.

Other unofficial reports from pro-government Syrian news websites said the plane crashed due to a malfunction.

Another activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, placed the death toll at not less than 12 civilians.

The oppositional Sham News Network posted photos of the aftermath of the plane crash, showing destroyed buildings and a ravaged square covered with debris and destroyed concrete.

Meanwhile, a senior Syrian officer told Xinhua that "there is no information about the warplane crash."

"We cannot confirm or deny," he said, adding that "the Syrian air force struck the site which the opposition mentioned and killed tens of rebels."

Ariha was the latest town, in the countryside of Idlib near the Turkish border, to fall to the jihadi groups.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian army targeted the rebel positions in Ariha and the towns of Bzait and Msharfeh as well as the vicinity of the Abu al-Duhur airbase, which is besieged by the Nusra militants.

The incident is the latest in a series of violence that engulfed Idlib, where the Syrian army backed by pro-government militiamen unleashed a large scale offensive to recapture areas in the western countryside of Idlib and the adjacent central province of Hama.

Both sides suffered losses during the raging battles.

The rebels have stormed much of Idlib province over the past few months. The Syrian government has repeatedly accused Turkey of rendering support to the rebels in their push toward Idlib. Endit