Turkey jails Syrian pilot who crashed near border

A Turkish court on Friday placed under arrest a Syrian military pilot whose aircraft crashed in Turkey near the border with Syria last month, state media reported.

The 56-year-old Syrian colonel managed to jump out of the aircraft after pulling his parachute as the plane was going down above the Hatay province in southern Turkey.The colonel -- who was flying alone when the plane crashed -- is charged with "spying" and "violation of the Turkish Republic's border security", state-run news agency Anadolu said.The Syrian rebel group Ahrar al-Sham said at the time it shot down the regime plane which had been flying over Idlib province in northwestern Syria and carrying out air strikes.Immediately after the group's claim, a Syrian military source quoted by state television said the plane was on a reconnaissance mission near the Turkish border.The pilot was discharged from hospital after treatment and ordered by a local court to be remanded in custody ahead of trial.The arrest comes after US President Donald Trump launched a strike in Syria in retaliation for a "barbaric" chemical attack he blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.The Turkish health ministry said on Thursday that initial findings pointed to the use of sarin nerve agent in the attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib which killed dozens and left hundreds more injured.