Rebels shoot down second Syrian jet in a month

 AMMAN/BEIRUT Rebels shot down a second Syrian warplane in less than a month on Tuesday and a monitoring group said they captured its pilot in an area near Aleppo where heavy fighting has erupted in recent days despite a cessation of hostilities agreement.The Syrian army said the jet was shot down with an anti-aircraft missile, which have been long demanded by foreign-backed rebels against devastating aerial raids by Syrian and, since September, Russian forces.Rebels said the plane was downed with anti-aircraft guns. Their backers, which include Western and Sunni Muslim regional states, have been wary of delivering weapons such as anti-aircraft missiles that could fall into the hands of hardline groups. Any confirmation the rebels now have the missile equipment would be a major escalation in their weaponry. Syria says an anti-aircraft missile was also used by rebels to shoot down a warplane in western Syria in March.