Last month, the militia fighters clawed back Tabqah from Islamic State, but the Islamic State still holds sway in large swaths of the desert areas to the south. A U.S. fighter pilot, who launched from an aircraft carrier stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, identified the Syrian aircraft and shot it down. “This blatant attack confirms the coordination between the United States and Daesh,” the Syrian statement said, employing the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Iran has been providing support to Assad against anti-government rebel groups and Islamic State. (The corps uses the term takfiri, or apostate, to describe Islamic State militants as well as a number of other Sunni Muslim extremist groups).

Source: Los Angeles Times June 19, 2017 00:47 UTC