Islamic State (IS) militants downed one more aircraft conducting strikes against Islamic State.
MOSCOW (AutoenGadget.com) - December 29 — Islamic State (IS) militants have downed an aircraft conducting strikes against the group's positions south of Tikrit, Iraq and have captured a pilot, Iraqi news agency Waradana reported Monday, citing the IS-run Bayan radio station.
"Anti-aircraft defense units of the organization downed a warplane conducting air strikes and captured a pilot in Khudeira region close to Balad station to the south of Tikrit," the statement said, Wardana reported.
Bayan, based in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, has not specified whether the aircraft belonged to international coalition forces or to the Iraqi Air Force. National authorities have not confirmed reports about the crash.
Sky News Arabia previously reported that IS militants downed a fighter plane belonging to the international coalition. On Wednesday Jordanian military reported that one of its airplanes crashed in the city of Raqqa, Syria and its pilot had been captured in an operation against IS militants. The group claimed it targeted the plane with a heat-seeking missile. However, the Jordanian military said the plane was not downed by the militants.
The Islamic State is a Sunni Muslim jihadist group estimated by the CIA to number some 30,000 people. The IS proclaimed a caliphate on territories it captured in Syria and Iraq in summer. The IS is currently fighting Syrian and Iraqi government forces, Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, as well as the US-led international coalition. The United States and its allies have been conducting airstrikes against IS positions since August in Iraq and since September in Syria. The IS, known for its brutal tactics, regularly targets journalists and civilians.
Source : Sputnik
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