Beirut  – Syria’s official news agency says a warplane has crashed east of the capital Damascus due to “technical failure during a training mission.”

The Jaish al-Islam, or Army of Islam, rebel group, which operates east of Damascus says it shot down the plane.

SANA says the search is on for the pilot, who successfully ejected from the Syrian warplane Friday. The eastern suburbs of Damascus, where the plane crashed, are held by rebels opposed to  Bashar Assad.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, says the plane appeared to have crashed because of technical failure, adding that the pilot was captured by rebels.

Rebels in Syria have long called on their backers to arm them with anti-aircraft missiles against Syrian airstrikes.

Source: AP, 1 July 2016