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Free Syrian Army fighters claim to shot down MiG-23 fighter aircraft of Syrian armed forces 1408121

Conflict in the World - Syria War

Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 08:54 AM

Free Syrian Army fighters claim to shot down MiG-23 fighter aircraft of Syrian armed forces.

Free Syrian Army fighters said Monday, August 13, 2012, they had shot down a MiG-23 fighter aircraft in eastern Syria. The report was confirmed by a military source in Damascus, who however attributed the incident to a technical failure. An insurgent group claimed to have captured the pilot of the fighter and showed him in a video posted on the internet calling his comrades to defect.

Video Free Syrian Army fighters shot down MiG-23 fighter aircraft.

Syrian state media quoted by the official SANA news agency attributed the fall of the jet fighter to a "technical failure," requiring the pilot to eject.

The spokesman of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Saadeddine Kassem, confirmed that its anti0aircraft units had shot down the warplane o in the eastern region of Deir Ezzor. An amateur video posted by militants on Youtube shows the plane on fire. "A MiG-23 was shot in the city of Mouhassan", 400 km east of Damascus, an unidentified man shouted.

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.

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-23 fighter aircraft was shot down.