ISIL fighters training to fly Syria warplanes

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) jihadists are being trained by Saddam Hussein's former pilots to fly three fighter jets captured from the Syrian military, a monitoring group said Oct. 16.
     
The planes, which are believed to be MiG-21 and MiG-23 jets, are capable of flying although it is unclear if they are equipped with missiles, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.       

The jets were seized from Syrian military airports now under ISıL control in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Raqa, according to the Britain-based group, which has a wide network of sources inside the war-torn country.
     

It said that former Iraqi army officers who once served under Saddam were supervising the training at the military airport of Jarrah, east of the city of Aleppo.
     
Witnesses have reported seeing planes flying at a low altitude to avoid detection by radar after taking off from Jarrah.

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