Syria claims it destroyed jets seized and test flown over Aleppo by ISIS

The Syrian air force has destroyed two of three jets seized and reportedly test flown over Aleppo by the Islamic State group last week, The Associated Press reported, citing the country's information minister.

Omran al-Zoubi told Syrian TV late Tuesday that Syrian aircraft bombed the jets as they were landing at Jarrah airbase in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province. He said the militants were able to hide a third jet, which the Syrian air force is now searching for.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights earlier had reported that ISIS militants flew three MiG fighter jets over the Jarraj air base with the help of former Iraqi air force pilots who were now members of the militant group. The report could not be independently confirmed, and U.S. officials said they had no reports of the militants flying jets.

The group is known to have seized fighter jets from at least one air base it captured from the Syrian army in Raqqa province earlier this year. Militant websites had posted photos of ISIS fighters with the warplanes, but it was unclear if they were operational.

Al-Zoubi described the aircraft as old and suggested they were no longer useful as military equipment.