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IS downs Syrian warplane in southern province: monitor

Xinhua, April 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Islamic State (IS) is believed to have targeted a Syrian war jet near an airbase in southern Syria on Thursday, a monitor group reported.

The warplane was hit near the airbase of Khilkhileh in the southern province of Swaida, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the plane crashed, but the pilot survived and reached a government-controlled area in the countryside of Swaida.

The IS confirmed in a statement targeting the Syrian warplane in Swaida.

Last week, a Syrian warplane was downed by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in the northern province of Aleppo.

The incidents come amid intensified battles in Aleppo between the Syrian army and Nusra militants, in addition to battles between the Nusra and the IS south of the capital Damascus.

Recent reports said the IS took control of much of the Yarmouk Camp for Palestinian refugees south of Damascus, following battles against the Nusra whose militants have been in control of that devastated area for over two years. Endit