RAQQA, Syria (CCTV) — The Syrian government has blamed the U.S.-led coalition for bringing down a Syrian Su-22 warplane from over the country’s northern city of Raqqa on Sunday.
The pilot is reported as missing, according to the Syrian state news agency.
The Syrian government forces have blamed the downing of its warplane as overt infringement upon the country’s sovereignty. The downed warplane was on a combat mission against the Islamic State (IS) group.
The general command of the Syrian army described the incident as evidence of the U.S. supportive role for the terror group.
It said the attack aims at undermining the capability of the Syrian government forces, “the only effective power practicing its legitimate rights in fighting terrorism across the homeland.”
The Syrian army warned of “dangerous repercussions” of the attack, stressing that such acts will not dissuade the Syrian army from carrying on with fighting terrorist groups and restoring peace and security to all of Syria.
The downing of the Syrian warplane came at a time when the Syrian army is advancing on the IS groups in the south and west of Raqqa, while the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are fighting IS inside Raqqa, the de facto capital seat of IS.
The U.S.-led coalition said in its statement that the coalition brought the warplane down as self-defense when it was air striking SDF-controlled area at the time. It also said though Syria and Russia are not their targets, the coalition would launch defensive attacks if necessary.
