Rebels shot down a second Syrian warplane in less than a month on Tuesday and a monitoring group said they captured its pilot in an area near Aleppo where heavy fighting has erupted in recent days despite a cessation of hostilities agreement.
The Syrian Army said the jet was shot down with an anti-aircraft missile, which have been long demanded by foreign-backed rebels against devastating aerial raids by Syrian and, since September, Russian forces.
Rebels said the plane was downed with anti-aircraft guns. Their backers, which include Western and Sunni Muslim regional states, have been wary of delivering weapons such as anti-aircraft missiles that could fall into the hands of hard-line groups.