Payback? Syrian Armed Forces Reportedly Shoot Down US Spy Drone Over Deir ez-Zor

A US Air Force surveillance aircraft was reportedly downed on Sunday in the province of Deir ez-Zor, where American jets bombed Syrian forces encircled by Daesh militants a day earlier, killing 62 personnel.

According to Press TV, the Syrian Army brought down a UAV that was spotted hovering over mountains in the Jabal Therdeh area in the east of the province. AMN new agency, presenting itself a source of news from the Arabian world, specified that shots were fired by the Syrian Arab Army's 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17th Tank Division, though noting that drone managed to leave the Syrian airspace.

Before the US-led coalition attack on Saturday that killed at least 62 Syrian Army soldiers, the Syrian airspace was opened to American aircraft, but the situation has become more unstable following the incident.

The Syrian army also regained control over the vast majority of territories that they lost to Daesh on Saturday, after the US-led coalition gave an upper hand to the extremists in their offensive by shelling positions of Syrian servicemen.

It was also reported that the Syrian Air Force supported by Russian aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes on Deir ez-Zor air base and Daesh-seized areas along the 30 mile-road connecting cities of Deir ez-Zor and Mayadeen.

On Saturday, four US-led coalition’s jets, two US Air Force F-16 planes, two A-10 planes and an combat drone hit key Syrian army defense positions around six kilometers [3.7 miles] south of the Deir ez-Zor airport. The attack that killed 62 and wounded over a hundred personnel, causing a backlash from Russia and Syria, both of whom alleged that the airstrikes were intentional.

However, the Pentagon said that the strike was an accident and the White House issued its “regrets” for an “unintentional loss of life.”

Syria has been engulfed by violence since 2011, when a civil war broke out in the country. Over 400,000 people have been killed  since that time.