Isis captures Syrian pilot after plane crashes southeast of Damascus

News agency affiliated to the terror group released unverified footage of the burning wreck of a Syrian warplane

Isis fighters have captured the pilot of a Syrian warplane they claim to have downed near the country's capital.

"The pilot, called Azzam Eid, from Hama was captured after he fell by parachute near the site where his plane crashed east of Damascus," a statement published by its propaganda outlet Amaq said.

Citing a Syrian military source, Russian news agency Interfax said the plane belonged to the Syrian Air Force and crashed because of a technical fault.


 Isis claimed the plane had been shot down, but the terror group did not claim responsibility (file image) 
 (AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP/Getty Images)

"The plane had recently undergone repairs... there was no attack from the ground. It crashed because of a technical fault. The pilot ejected," Interfax quoted the source as saying.

Earlier, another Islamist group in the area, Jaysh al-Islam, said the plane had crashed near the town of Bir al-Qasb due to a technical fault shortly after it left the Dumayr air base.

But a video shared online by Amaq claimed the plane had been shot down, showing fighters clambering over its burning wreckage and stamping on the Syrian flag painted on its wing.

Fighting is raging in the area around Dumeir airport between forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, Isis and the Syrian opposition.

The so-called Islamic State overran part of the region earlier this month, capturing hundreds of civilan workers from a cement factory, including several who were later massacred.

Additional reporting by Reuters