Syria Rebels Shoot Down MiG Near Damascus

Syrian rebel fighters on Monday shot down a MiG warplane in Damascus province that had been bombing rebel strongholds, activists said.

Details of the incident were scarce and there was no immediate confirmation from the Syrian authorities.

"The Free Syrian Army shot down a warplane between Dumeir and Rahiybeh, which had been bombing cities and towns in Eastern Ghuta," the Local Coordination Committees, a network of opposition activists on the ground, reported.

Syrian activist Omar Shakir confirmed the account.

"The rebels shot down a MiG near Dumeir and now they are looking for the pilot," he told Agence France Presse by phone.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog that relies on a network of activists and medics, said reports had been received that an army aircraft was shot down near Dumeir, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Damascus.

Since the end of July, the Syrian regime has relied on fighter jets to try to suppress a growing insurgency. The air force has regularly carried out air strikes on Eastern Ghuta, in an attempt to dislodge rebels from their rear bases in the orchards on the outskirts of the capital.

But outgunned rebels last week for the first time used surface-to-air missiles to strike down two aircraft in northern Syria in a 24-hour period.

"If the Syrian air force starts losing several aircraft every day, that will be a significant turning point because the regime will lose its superiority and will no longer be able to use its main means of delivering strong fire power effectively," said military analyst Riad Kahwaji.