Video shows Syrian warplane bursting into flames

2012-08-13 192

Amateur video out of Syria appears to show a Syrian government plane bursting into flames under rebel fire.

The video, purportedly from North East Syria could not be independently verified by Reuters.

The downing of a warplane would be a rare event for the lightly armed rebels.

More footage purportedly from the same area appears to show an explosion on the ground.

The people in the audio seem to think that the explosion was caused by the fighter jet firing a rocket - rather than it coming down.

Syrian state TV is reporting that a plane crashed in the area due to technical problems.

In recent months the government has begun to use its air power to try to crush a 17-month-old uprising that has already claimed at least 18,000 lives.