A Navy fighter jet shot down a Syrian Air Force plane that dropped bombs near fighters aligned with America in the battle against the Islamic State, the US-led military coalition said in a statement on Sunday.

An F-18 Super Hornet downed a Syrian government SU-22 jet after it bombed Syrian Democratic Forces, the statement said.

The shootdown was near the Syrian town of Tabqa.

The U.S. military statement says it acted in “collective self-defense” of its partner forces.

The statement said coalition officials contacted the Russians, who are backing President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

“The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian, or pro-regime forces partnered with them, but will not hesitate to defend coalition or partner forces from any threat,” the statement said.

In April, the US launched cruise missiles at a Syria airbase in response to Assad’s chemical attack on his people.

With Post Wires