Sources close to Russian forces in Syria hinted at an American role in the downing of a regime warplane Monday in the Syrian desert area.
The “Central Channel for the Hemeimeem Military Base” Facebook page, which covers Russian military operations in Syria, said that a spokesman for the Russian air base at Hemeimeem said that “the downing of the plane yesterday used anti-aircraft weapons which recently arrived by way of the American forces to armed rebel groups.” The Syrian opposition Monday managed to down a warplane belonging to the Assad regime's forces in the Dakwa area in the Damascus countryside.
The Lions of the East Army rebel group said on its Twitter account that the plane that was downed was a MiG-21, with the number 2792, and published some images of the crash and the corpse of its pilot.
Earlier, the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition had warned the Assad regime forces and its allied sectarian forces against advancing toward the Al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq.
Syrian rebel groups announced Tuesday the resumption of the “The Land is Ours” battle in the eastern Suweida countryside and the Damascus countryside against regime forces and allied militias.
A joint statement from the Lions of the East Army and the Forces of Martyr Ahmed al-Abdo of the Free Syrian Army said the they had begun a major assault on regime and allied militia positions on the Baghdad-Damascus highway, killing a number of fighters and destroying vehicles including a tank.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
