WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition against the Daesh terror group (outlawed in Russia) has shot down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in Syria and one Syrian combat aircraft, US Air Forces Central Command, Southwest Asia Commander Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian said during a press briefing on Friday.
"In the last several months, as you have probably seen in the press, we've had several air-to-air engagements where we shot down some UAVs [and] shot down a Syrian aircraft all in defense of our troops," Harrigian stated during a press briefing on Friday.
Harrigan said he wanted to remind everyone that his primary job is "to protect my force on the ground and in the air while we continue to fight ISIS [Daesh]."
On June 18, a US F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft shot down a Syrian government SU-22 combat jet. The Syrian jet was attempting to bomb US-backed forces moving on the city of Raqqa, according to published reports.
Two days later, a US F-15E jet destroyed an armed Shaheed-129 UAV, which was operated by the Syrian government forces or the Lebanese Hezbollah.
