Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — Sunni rebels are said to have downed a Syrian military aircraft.

The opposition said a Syrian Air Force air transport was shot down by rebels in the northern province of Idlib.

At least 34 people, including officers, were reportedly killed in the crash.

For more than a year, Western-backed Sunni rebels appealed to the West and Arab states for surface-to-air missiles. In the spring of 2014, opposition sources said the rebels received a small amount of SAMs.

“They were killed in a coordinated attack by Islamic factions on the outskirts of Hama,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Syrian Observatory said the aircraft was downed on May 18 as part of a rebel offensive in Hama. The militias were identified as the Nusra Front for the Defense of the Levant, Islamic Front, Al Sham Army and Ajnad Al Sham Union. The Air Force did not confirm the downing.

“The aircraft was shot down as it tried to land in Abu Al Duhur airport
in Idlib,” Syrian Observatory said.

This marked the first rebel downing of a Syrian military aircraft in two
years. It was not clear what weapons the rebels used to attack the air
transport.

  Idlib province, Nusra Front, Rebels claim first Syrian military plane since receiving SAMs, SAMs, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights