US rejects claim that ISIS downed plane in Iraq
A US-led coalition is carrying out strikes against ISIS in Iraq, and also providing training and other assistance to the country’s forces
The ISIS-linked Amaq agency claimed Monday that ISIS had shot down an American aircraft in Iraq, but the US military said the claim was false.
“The crew of an American plane, which was shot down by ISIS militants near the Ain al-Asad base, was killed,” Amaq said in an online statement, referring to a base where American personnel are stationed in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
But a spokesperson for the US Central Command rejected the Amaq claim.
“There is no truth to reports of (ISIS) downing (a) US aircraft in the vicinity of Anbar. All US and coalition aircraft are accounted for at this time,” Captain Michele Rollins told AFP.
A US-led coalition is carrying out strikes against ISIS in Iraq, and also providing training and other assistance to the country’s forces.
ISIS group overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by coalition support have since regained significant ground from the militants.
