Last night, a Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) jet was shot down while carrying out sorties over eastern Aleppo, reports claim.

The Syrian warplane, type ‘Aero L-39 Albatros’, was conducting machine gun raids on Islamist insurgents in support of nearby Syrian infantry advances.

The plane crashed overnight, at around 1:00 AM local time, in a rebel-held urban area between Aleppo Citadel and the National Eye Hospital. The pilots, a Major and a Captain, did not manage to eject in time and died upon impact, initial reports suggest.

Local opposition sources claim the jet was not downed due to technical failure but rather as a result of insurgent anti-aircraft gunfire.