Free Syrian Army downs regime helicopter near Damascus

By Levent Tok and Mohamed Misto

DAMASCUS

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) on Friday shot down an Assad regime helicopter in the western countryside of Damascus while it was dropping barrel bombs on opposition-held positions, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent based nearby.

The Union of Jabal al-Sheikh Forces, a faction of the FSA, downed the helicopter with a heat-seeking missile as it flew over Mount Hermon southwest of Damascus.

The helicopter crashed in an opposition-held area near the village of Zakia, killing everyone aboard.

The Mount Hermon region continues to witness frequent clashes between Assad regime forces and FSA fighters amid ongoing attempts by the latter to break a regime siege on the opposition-held village of Beit Jen.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating civil war that began in 2011. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict and millions displaced, according to claims by the UN.