ISIS declared Monday that it had shot down a U.S. fighter plane and executed the crew.
“The crew of the U.S. warplane that was shot down by Islamic State fighters near Ayn Asad Airbase is dead,” read a statement by the Amaq news agency, ISIS’ main propaganda channel and local media outlet. Ayn Asad is about 100 miles west of Baghdad.
However, the terrorist group offered no proof of its claim, and the Pentagon stated that it was false.
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“We can confirm with confidence that no US aircraft have been shot down in Iraq at all,” a US Air Force spokesman told the Mirror. “We have accounted for all of our aircraft.”
U.S. Central Command made a similar statement on Twitter.
There is no truth to reports of ISIL downing a US aircraft near Anbar. All US & Coalition aircraft accounted for at this time @CJTFOIR
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 25, 2016
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ISIS currently controls territory in northern and western Iraq as well as northern and western Syria. The group has lost considerable ground in central Iraq but continues to harass Baghdad with suicide bombers and small attacks. This is in an effort to give the impression the Islamic caliphate is still strong even though ISIS has suffered numerous battleground loses. Terrorist operations have occurred in other countries as well, some of them extremely well coordinated.
The most recent jihadist attack was Sunday night in Anbach, Germany. Mohammad Daleel had planned to detonate a suicide bomb during a music festival in which many lives could have been taken. When he was denied access, he ran to a close restaurant and set off the bomb, killing only himself. CNN reported that he left behind a video pledging allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Most of Europe continues to remain on high alert.
h/t: Mirror
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