US-led coalition shoots down Syrian aircraft in southern Raqqa

Syrian army says US coalition shot down plane flying against Islamic State militants, Central command says plane downed in 'collective self-defense'
soL News, RT, agencies
Monday, 19 June 2017 02:49

US-led coalition downed Syrian air force’s aircraft near the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, the Syrian Defense Ministry said Sunday. The US-led international coalition prevented the Syrian forces from advancing to the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) south of Tabqah by shooting down the Syrian army's aircraft, the coalition headquarters said Sunday in a statement.

"Our aircraft was downed at lunch time today near the [Syrian] city of Raqqa when it was fulfilling its mission against the Islamic State," the Syrian Defence Ministry said in a statement, adding that the US-led coalition was responsible for downing the aircraft.

The Ministry underlined that the coalition’s actions are aimed at halting the Syrian army and its allies in the fight against terrorism, whereas our army and allies make great progress.

A Syrian army statement released on Syrian state television said the pilot was missing. "This attack comes at a time when the Syrian Arab Army and its allies are advancing in the fight against ISIS terrorists who are being defeated in the Syrian desert in more ways than one. The attack stresses coordination between the US and Islamic State, and it reveals the evil intentions of the US in administrating terrorism and investing it to pass the US-Zionist project in the region," said the army in the statement. 

Later the U.S. Central Command issued a statement saying the Syrian plane was downed "in collective self-defense of Coalition-partnered forces," near Tabqah.

"At approximately 4:30 p.m. Syria time, June 18, Pro-Syrian regime forces attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces-held town of Ja'Din, South of Tabqah, driving the SDF from the town," the coalition said. The statement also said, "a number of SDF fighters" were wounded in the Syrian forces attack, but did not specify further. 

The US-led coalition contacted its Russian counterparts following the "Syrian troops' attack on the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)" to de-escalate the situation, the coalition headquarters said in the statement. 

Coalition aircraft in a show of force stopped the initial advance. When a Syrian army SU-22 jet later dropped bombs near the U.S. backed forces, it was immediately shot by a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet, the statement said.

This is not the first time that the US-led intervention in Syria has led to standoffs and violence against pro-government forces. In September 2016, a coalition airstrike on Deir ez-Zor killed over 60 Syrian soldiers while in April 2017, US President Donald Trump ordered a Tomahawk missile strike on the Shayrat airbase, ostensibly in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons by the Syria government, though no concrete evidence of this has emerged.

Earlier in June, the US deployed several High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) in southern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the presence of the rocket launchers cannot be justified by a need to fight Islamic State terrorists, as IS forces are not active in the area. Instead, their presence threatens the cooperation between the Syrian government and their partners in Iraq.