A Russian warplane was hit by the “guidance systems” of F-16 fighter jets of the US-led coalition during a routine patrol over Syria’s southern border, TASS quoted Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov as saying on Thursday.

American troops in SyriaPhoto: Delil SOULEIMAN/ AFP/ Profimedia Images

According to Gurinov, who is the deputy director of the Russian Center for Reconciliation for Syria, the F16s “damaged” the Russian planes with their guidance systems. He did not provide more details.

Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015, tipping the scales in favor of President Bashar al-Assad. Since then, Moscow has expanded its military facilities in the country with a permanent air base and also has a naval base.

The United States leads the coalition against Islamic State militants and has carried out airstrikes in Syria this year.

Gurinov also made new accusations that coalition pilots had violated Syrian airspace several times over the past day.