Syrian rebels 'capture jet pilot'

Syria rebels claimed on Monday to have shot down one of Bashar al-Assad's MiG fighter jets and captured the pilot, in what would be a significant coup for the opposition movement.

Footage posted by opposition activists on YouTube showed the jet flying through gunfire over the town of Mohassen in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, before bursting into flames.

State media admitted the regime had lost a jet, but insisted it had crashed due to "mechanical problems" while on a training mission and that the pilot had ejected. The rebels said they had shot down the Russian-made MiG 23, and later claimed to have captured the pilot.

If confirmed, it would be the first time that the rebels have succeeded in downing a Syrian plane since the uprising against Mr Assad began 17 months ago.

The pilot's treatment by his captors - if their claims are true - will represent a test for the rebels, who are furious with the air force for its use of power against areas they hold, particularly in Aleppo.

Last night, a rebel group calling itself "the revolutionary youth of the land of the Euphrates" distributed a video of the alleged pilot, giving his name as Mufid Mohammed Suleiman.

"My mission was to bomb the town of Mohassen," he says in the footage. "The wounds on my face were caused by the strong wind that forced me on to stones after I ejected from my plane. The revolutionaries have treated me well and they gave me first aid assistance."

There have been increasing numbers of reports of rebels executing their captives. But a rebel officer in the video who gives his name as Abul Laith, chief of the Descendants of Mohammed Brigade, said the prisoner would be treated in accordance with "religious ethics and the Geneva Convention".

The battle of Aleppo has drawn government troops away from large parts of the country where the regime once held sway. Government forces are making progress in their attempts to retake the city. They moved tanks into Saif al-Dawla, the neighbouring district to the western suburb of Salaheddin which the government partly retook last week.

But they are still under attack in Salaheddin from rebel outposts, while the Free Syrian Army claims to be advancing in north-eastern parts of the city.

The shooting down of a jet would have great symbolic importance. The air force has been brought into full play in the last week, bombing Aleppo and surrounding countryside. The use of jets has prompted calls from Syrian opposition leaders in exile for a no-fly zone to be imposed.