US shooting down of Syrian jet 'act of war': Analyst

The US decision to shoot down a Syrian aircraft should be considered “an act of war” which must be taken to international courts, says a political analyst.

Scott Rickard made the remarks on Tuesday when asked about a Syrian warplane that was shot down by the US earlier in June.

On June 18, the Syrian army said that the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group had targeted one of its Sukhoi Su-22 warplanes over al-Rasafa area in the southern countryside of Raqqah Province.

The Syrian General Command of the Army and Armed Forces announced in a statement that the military aircraft was on a combat mission against Daesh terrorists, noting that the pilot of the jet had gone missing after the “flagrant aggression.”

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• US shoots down Syrian fighter jet over Raqqah

“Well, unfortunately the United States has gone so far as to shoot down a Syrian aircraft and this is obviously a huge act of war, this is very similar to what happened with the Turkish military air force when they shot down the Russian airliner in Syria,” Rickard, a former American intelligence linguist, told Press TV.

“The United States has gone way beyond international law.... and we’re looking at an opportunity where international law is going to basically look at this as a war crime and an act of war if it's ever taken to a court. That’s the thing that really needs to happen here,” he added.

“The United Nations is not going to be effective obviously, but the international crimes or war crimes courts will be the best area to go to fight this obviously,” he stated.

Following the announcement by Syria, the US-led Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement that pro-government Syrian forces had attacked the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the town of Ja'Din south of Tabqa, wounding a number of US-backed militants and driving the rest from the town.

The United States, without the Syrian government’s consent, is conducting a military campaign in Syria purportedly striking Daesh targets in the war-torn country.

On April 7, US warships in the eastern Mediterranean launched a barrage of 59 Tomahawk missiles against Shayrat Air Base in Syria’s Homs Province, which Washington alleged was the origin of a suspected chemical attack on the town of Khan Shaykhun in Syria’s Idlib Province earlier that month.

Washington has so far failed to provide any evidence to support the accusations, prompting criticisms from many countries and international intuitions that the US took unilateral military action hastily and without proof.

The strike drew praise from anti-Damascus militant groups as well as the countries long viewed as their staunch supporters, including Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey.

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