Why It Is A Big Deal That A U.S. Warplane Shot Down A Syrian Fighter Jet

Jared Malsin, Time: A U.S. Warplane Shot Down a Syrian Jet. Here's Why That's a Big Deal

An American fighter jet shot down a Syrian government bomber in the eastern part of the country on Sunday, in one of the clearest signs yet of an open conflict between the United States and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The downing of the Syrian plane raises the possibility of future fighting between pro-Assad forces and U.S. forces that are deployed in Syria in support of Syrian militias battling the Islamic State.

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Update #1: The U.S. Shot Down a Syrian Plane. Russia Is Angry. Now What? (Popular Mechanics)
Update #2: Syria conflict: Why are air combat kills so rare? (David Molloy, BBC)

WNU Editor: When U.S. forces entered Syria last year to pursue the war against the Islamic State in the eastern part of the country .... everyone was expecting an escalation in U.S. - Syria/Russia/Iran tensions .... Escalation in Syria was almost inevitable (Gayle Lemmon, CNN).

It started last month (May 18) and it has escalated to this weekend's downing of a Syrian military plane ....

US-Led Coalition Strikes Pro-Syrian Government Militia Convoy That Was Approaching U.S. Backed Forces In Southern Syria (May 18, 2017)

Are U.S. And Iranian Backed Forces About To Face Each Other In Syria? (May 29, 2017)

U.S.-Led Coalition Launches New Airstrikes On Iranian-Backed Fighters In Syria (June 6, 2017)

Hezbollah Threatens To Hit U.S. Positions In Syria (June 7, 2017)

Russia Warns The U.S. To Not Strike Syrian Pro-Government Forces Again (June 10, 2017)

US Super Hornet Shoots Down Syrian Su-22 In Air-to-Air Kill -- News Roundup (June 19, 2017)

Russia Now Threatening to Target US Warplanes Over Syria (June 19, 2017)

If this trend continues .... it is not hard to see where it will finally end.