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Activists: IS Shoots down warplane over northern Syria

Associated Press
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This image posted by the Raqqa Media Center, which monitors events in territory controlled by Islamic State militants with the permission of the extremist group, shows a photograph of the Jordanian military identity card of a pilot identifying him as Mu'ath Safi Yousef al-Kaseasbeh in Raqqa, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Islamic State group militants captured al-Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian pilot, after his warplane went down in Syria, Jordan said Wednesday, the first such capture since the international coalition's air campaign against the group began. The pilot's family confirmed al-Kaseasbeh is shown in a series of images released by the Raqqa Media Center. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Center) (The Associated Press)

Relatives and friends of the Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State group, 1st Lt. Mu'ath Safi al-Kaseasbeh, gather in the Kaseasbeh tribe chamber in the town of Aey near Al Karak, in southern Jordan, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Islamic State militants captured a Jordanian pilot after his warplane crashed in Syria while conducting airstrikes Wednesday, the first foreign military member to fall into the extremists' hands since an international coalition launched its bombing campaign against the group months ago. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (The Associated Press)

Relatives and friends of the Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State group, 1st Lt. Mu'ath Safi al-Kaseasbeh, gather in the Kaseasbeh tribe chamber in the town of Aey near Al Karak, in southern Jordan, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Islamic State militants captured a Jordanian pilot after his warplane crashed in Syria while conducting airstrikes Wednesday, the first foreign military member to fall into the extremists' hands since an international coalition launched its bombing campaign against the group months ago. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (The Associated Press)

Activists say that Islamic State fighters have shot down a warplane believed to be from the U.S.-led coalition over Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the aircraft was shot down Wednesday near the northern city of Raqqa, the Islamic State group's de facto capital.

The Observatory said the warplane was part of the U.S.-led coalition, adding that the captured pilot is an Arab.

Another group, the Raqqa Media Center, that covers areas under IS control in Raqqa claimed that the pilot is Jordanian.

The U.S.-led coalition has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against IS positions in Syria since Sept. 23.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have joined in airstrikes against the extremist group, while Qatar is providing logistical support.