"A Syrian MiG 21 fighter jet has landed in Jordan," al-Jazeera and other news outlets report. And according to Reuters, a Jordanian official says the pilot has asked for asylum. The BBC is reporting that news as well.
If that's correct, al-Jazeera adds, Syrian activists say it would be the first defection involving an aircraft since protests against the regime of President Bashar Assad began in March 2011.
The Syrian government is only saying at this point that it lost contact with the fighter earlier today.
Update at 12:15 p.m. ET. Syria Wants Its Jet Back:
According to the BBC, "Syria has [now] condemned the pilot as a traitor, and has asked the Jordanian government for the return of its plane."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
