US jets potential targets, claims Russia

Syria: Warning after warplane shot down

Warplanes from the US-led coalition operating over Syrian government-controlled areas west of the Euphrates River will be tracked as potential targets, Russia’s defence ministry said, a day after the US military shot down a Syrian air force jet. Moscow condemned the downing of the Syrian jet after it dropped bombs near the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces that are fighting Islamic State.

The downing of the warplane came as Iran fired several ballistic missiles at IS positions in eastern Syria in retaliation for two attacks by the extremists in Tehran earlier this month that killed 17 people.

Areas of northern Syria west of the Euphrates were controlled by IS before Syrian government forces captured most of them.

The Russians appear to want to avoid further US targeting of Syrian planes or ground troops that have come under US attack in eastern Syria recently.

Moscow also called on the US military to provide a full account of why it decided to shoot down the Syrian Su-22.

Russia, a key ally of Syrian president Bashar Assad, has been providing air cover to the government’s offensive since 2015.

The US military confirmed one of its F-18 Super Hornets shot down a Syrian Su-22 that had dropped bombs near the SDF. Those forces, which are aligned with the US in the campaign against IS, warned Syrian government troops to stop their attacks or face retaliation.

In comments to Russian news agencies, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov compared the downing to “helping the terrorists that the US is fighting against”.

“What is this, if not an act of aggression?” he asked.

Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the defence and security committee, described the defence ministry’s statement as a warning.

“I’m sure because of this, neither the US nor anyone else will take any actions to threaten our aircraft,” he told the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.

Mr Ozerov insisted Russia will be tracking the coalition’s jets, not shooting them down.

OBSERVERS: Fighters from the SDF look toward the northern town of Tabqa, where bombs were dropped