US-led coalition plane downed in Syria, pilot captured

A warplane was downed in Syria’s eastern Raqqa province in territory controlled by Islamic State group militants and the pilot was taken captive, a monitoring group and Islamic State supporters on social media said Wednesday.

Events in Syria are difficult to confirm because of restricted media access to conflict zones.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the plane was brought down near Raqqa city, a major stronghold for Islamic State fighters.

The Observatory, which monitors Syria’s war with a network of sources, said the pilot was believed to have an Arab nationality. Islamic State-affiliated social media accounts published pictures purportedly of the pilot being held by Islamic State fighters.

It was not possible to verify the images.

Both the Syrian government and a U.S.-led coalition set up to fight Islamic State regularly bomb Islamic State targets in Raqqa province. There was no immediate comment from Syrian government or officials from countries participating in the coalition about the reports.

Air strikes by government aircraft killed more than 20 people in Raqqa province on Tuesday, the Observatory said.