Daesh shoot down Syria regime jet near Palmyra

Daesh’s Amaq news agency has claimed that the militant group has successfully managed to shoot down a Syrian regime jet near Palmyra, an ancient Syrian city recently recaptured from the extremist organisation.

Amaq claimed that the Assad regime jet was shot down near the Jazl oilfields that lie due west of Palmyra, now home to a base that houses Russian as well as Syrian soldiers.

Daesh’s claims to have advanced into key oilfields were supported by a number of organisations, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based war monitor.

“After the continued clashes against the [Assad] regime forces and militiamen loyal to them in the area, [Daesh is now] 8 km away from Palmyra,” SOHR said today.

Activists claimed that the Syrian jet that was shot down was a Russian-made MiG-23, a Soviet era fighter-bomber still sold to many countries that formed part of the former Soviet Union’s sphere of influence.

Palmyra was retaken last March by Russia-backed Assad regime forces, and this is the first time that the city has been this badly threatened by Daesh militants since. According to reports from opposition factions in Aleppo, the Assad regime had to hurry reinforcements to Palmyra from Aleppo in order to fend off Daesh attacks.