Ali al-Hilou, who was captured after his plane crashed in southern Syria, says regime wants to avoid conducting prisoner swap, Alsouria Net writes

Regime pilot Ali al-Hilou, who is being held by the Free Syrian Army's Lions of the East Army in the Syrian desert, appeared in a video directing a message to President Bashar al-Assad after his forces shelled the areas he is presumed to be held.

In a video recording published by the FSA-linked group on its Twitter page, Hilou said that the regime army had bombed the area where he is located as well as other areas he had previously been held in an effort to kill him.

The captured pilot appeared to be in good health throughout the video after photos emerged last week showing a number of wounds. It appears they have begun to heal.

A member in the rebel group’s media office said that regime warplanes had bombed the pilot’s position five times in an attempt to kill him and accuse the FSA of his death, as well as ridding itself of the need to conduct a prisoner exchange.

A rebel operations room, which includes fighters from the Lions of the East Army group and Forces of Martyr Ahmed al-Abdou, captured the pilot last week after his Russian-made jet crashed in the eastern Suweida countryside.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.