Navy jet shoots down Syrian warplane that attacked US-backed rebels

A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down a Syrian government warplane after it attacked Washington-backed fighters near ISIS' de facto capital of Raqqa, the U.S.-led coalition said Sunday.
In a statement, the coalition said its aircraft "conducted a show of force" to turn back an attack by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's forces on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the town of Ja'Din, south of Tabqah.
The coalition confirmed that a U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Su-22 that had dropped bombs near SDF positions. The coalition said the shootdown took place "in accordance with rules of engagement and in collective self-defense of Coalition partnered forces."
The statement said "a number of SDF fighters" were wounded in the regime's attack, but did not specify further. The coalition also said that Russian officers had been contacted on a special "de-confliction" hotline in an effort to halt the regime's attack.
Earlier Sunday, the Syrian military accused the U.S.-led coalition of downing one of its fighter jets in southern Raqqa on a mission against ISIS militants. The military said the plane crashed and the pilot is missing. Syrian troops had said earlier they were pushing their way into the Rasafa area in southern rural Raqqa.
"The Coalition's mission is to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria," its statement said. "The Coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian, or pro-regime forces partnered with them, but will not hesitate to defend Coalition or partner forces from any threat."
The statement went on to call for all parties in Syria's complex and bloody six-year-long conflict to "focus their efforts on the defeat of ISIS, which is our common enemy and the greatest threat to regional and worldwide peace and security."
The downing of the Syrian plane follows a number of recent incidents involving the U.S. military and the Assad regime and Iranian-backed forces.
Earlier this month, a U.S. F-15 shot down an Iranian drone in southern Syria after it fired on U.S.-backed forces.
In April, the U.S. Navy launched 59 cruise missiles targeting a Syrian airbase from two destroyers in the Mediterranean following a chemical weapons attack by Assad's forces.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and FoxNews.com's Hollie McKay contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report

Mali resort hit by terror attack, at least 2 people killed

Suspected jihadists in the West African country of Mali attacked a luxury resort popular with foreigners on the outskirts of the country's capital Sunday, killing at least two people.

The assault continued into the evening and there were believed to be hostages in the luxury Campement de Kangaba resort area near Bamako Sunday.

Residents living near the resort said that shots were fired and smoke could be seen in the air.

"I heard gunfire coming from the camp and I saw people running out of the tourist site," said Modibo Diarra, who lives nearby. "I learned that it was a terrorist attack."

Malian soldiers succeeded in entering the site, according to Commandant Modibo Traore, a spokesman for the Malian special forces in the former French colony.

"The operation is ongoing and we estimate that there are between three and four assailants," he said.

As night fell, witnesses saw smoke rising from the resort, which features three swimming pools and is a popular escape from the Malian heat. It was not immediately clear what was burning, although jihadists in other attacks have set cars ablaze.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came amid the final week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In predominantly Muslim Mali, people have been fasting from sunrise to sundown for three weeks.

Baba Cisse, a spokesman for Mali's security ministry, confirmed that one of those killed was a "French-Gabonese citizen." The other victim's nationality was not immediately released.

A United Nations official told the Associated Press those at the resort when the attack began included people affiliated with the French military mission as well as the U.N.

The French president's office, the defense minister's office and the French military would not comment immediately on the attack or on media reports saying that French forces are intervening.

The French Foreign Ministry would not say whether any French citizens were hurt or otherwise involved in the attack in the West African country.

French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said he had "strictly no information" about French military involvement in the incident in Bamako. He said there are no French troops based in Bamako, but about 2,000 French troops based in northern Mali fighting Islamic extremists.

France intervened in Mali in 2013 to oust Islamic extremists who had seized control of the major northern towns the year before. While the militants were officially ousted, they have continued to launch regular attacks on U.N. peacekeeping and Malian military sites.

Sunday's violence came about a week after the U.S. State Department warned of "possible future attacks on Western diplomatic missions, other locations in Bamako that Westerners frequent."

Religious extremism in Mali once was limited to northern areas, although in recent years the jihadists have spread violence farther south, including a devastating attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in November 2015. That attack left 20 dead -- six Malians and 14 foreigners.