Syrian fighter jet crashes in eastern region

DAMASCUS - A Syrian fighter jet fell down Monday in the eastern region due to a malfunction, a military source was quoted by the state news agency SANA as saying, as activists claimed the jet was downed by rebels.

The military source did not specify the exact location where the plane has fallen, but said the search for the pilot, who ejected himself from the plane before its crashed, is ongoing.

The source said the warplane was on a regular training flight, adding that it had faced a technical glitch that made the flight impossible, which triggered the pilot's ejection from the jet.

On the opposition side, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said witnesses confirmed that a MIG fighter jet has been downed over the city of Muhassan on the outskirts of eastern Deir al-Zour province.

It said the jet was bombarding the area, adding that the jet was downed by a 14.5-mm machine gun while it was flying at a low altitude.

The observatory further identified the fighter who fired at the plane as Mohamad al-A'lawi.

Furthermore, a video appeared on-line and showed the allegedly captured fighter pilot, who was identified as Colonel Mohammed Suleiman and said to have been taken captive by rebels after his MIG jet was shot down.

Neither the account nor the authenticity of the video content could be checked independently.

If true, the rebels seem to have grown more resourceful amid local reports accusing Turkey and the Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia of providing the armed insurgent groups with powerful weapons.