Al Qaeda in Syria says shoots down army cargo plane

BEIRUT - The Syrian wing of al Qaeda, the Nusra Front, said it shot down an army cargo plane filled with food and ammunition overnight in the northwest of the country.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report, which appeared on the group's social media accounts.

State news did not mention the downing of the plane, which the Nusra Front said happened near the army-controlled Abu al-Duhur military airport in Idlib province.

Several Syrian air force jets and helicopters have been shot down in Syria's civil war, which erupted after the government cracked down on pro-democracy protests in 2011.

A US-led coalition is flying sorties in Syria to strike the hardline Islamic State group, an offshoot of al Qaeda that is also fighting the Syrian army.

Last month, a Jordanian air force pilot was captured by Islamic State fighters after his plane was downed near the militant group's stronghold of Raqqa in northeastern Syria.