US jets fail to stop Russian bombers over Syria

American fighter jets have unsuccessfully tried to stop Russian bombers from striking US-backed militants in Syria, a new report claims.

The close encounter occurred on June 16 in southern Syria near the border with Jordan, when at least two twin-engine Su-34 bombers attacked nearly 200 terrorists in what was described by the Pentagon as a “border garrison,” the Daily Beast reported Monday.

The US military tried to repel the attack by scrambling F/A-18 fighters to intercept the Russian aircraft, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The American pilots directly contacted their Russian counterparts and flew close enough to visually identify the Su-34s.

According to the Times, the Su-34s left the area at first but returned and bombed the militants again after the F/A-18s reportedly ran low on fuel and went away to link up with an aerial tanker.

The US military officials said the militants belonged to the New Syrian Army, which has been trained by the United States and United Kingdom. They added that Iraqi tribal fighters were also attacked by Russians.

The last time a Russian warplane was downed by an American one was in 1953, over Korea or China.

However, the last time Russia or the Soviet Union shot down a US aircraft was in 1970, when a US Army plane was shot down over Armenia.

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