ISIS Downs Jordanian Warplane in Syria, Captures Pilot

First Coalition Warplane Lost in ISIS War

The US-led coalition has lost its first warplane of the ISIS war in Syria today, as ISIS shot down a Jordanian F-16 with a heat-seeking missile, capturing the pilot. The US denied that ISIS was the one that shot the plane down, but the capture was confirmed.

ISIS issued images of the captured pilot being paraded around their capital city of Raqqa. Jordan warned they are holding ISIS responsible for the safety of the captured pilot.

That’s probably not going to be a serious concern for ISIS, since Jordan and the other coalition members are already at war with them and bombing them on a daily basis.

It’s a much bigger concern for the coalition, as now that ISIS has proven its capability to shoot down coalition warplanes, it’s only a matter of time before they down some more, and as the losses mount, the lack of progress in the war is likely to become a more serious concern.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.