A U. S. Navy fighter jet shot down a Syrian Su-22 fighter-bomber following an attack on U. S.-led coalition forces in Syria.
This story is just breaking, so we will have more as it becomes known.
U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down a Syrian government warplane after it attacked Washington-backed fighters near ISIS’ de facto capital of Raqqa, the U.S.-led coalition said Sunday.In a statement, the coalition said its aircraft “conducted a show of force” to turn back an attack by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s forces on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the town of Ja’Din, south of Tabqah.The coalition confirmed that a U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Su-22 that had dropped bombs near SDF positions. The coalition said the shootdown took place “in accordance with rules of engagement and in collective self-defense of Coalition partnered forces.”The statement said “a number of SDF fighters” were wounded in the regime’s attack, but did not specify further. The coalition also said that Russian officers had been contacted on a special “de-confliction” hotline in an effort to halt the regime’s attack.
ABC News has the release:
ABC News reports further details:
The incident occurred in the town of Ja’Din, south of Tabqa, Syria, which had recently been retaken from ISIS by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group of Syrian Kurdish and Arab rebel forces supported by the U.S. in the fight against the militant group.SDF came under attack from regime forces in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad around 4:30 p.m. Syria time. A number of SDF fighters were wounded in the assault, and the SDF soon left Ja’Din.Coalition aircraft conducted a show of force overhead that stopped the initial pro-regime advance towards the town.”Following the Pro-Syrian forces attack, the coalition contacted its Russian counterparts by telephone via an established ‘de-confliction line’ to de-escalate the situation and stop the firing,” said a statement from Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS.”At 6:43 p.m., a Syrian regime SU-22 dropped bombs near SDF fighters south of Tabqah and, in accordance with rules of engagement and in collective self-defense of coalition partnered forces, was immediately shot down by a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet,” said the statement.
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