DHAKA: Syrian rebels have captured several government airmen after their helicopter crashed in a rebel-held area of the country’s northwest.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday that four crew members had been taken prisoner near Jabal al-Zawiya, about 10km north of the town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib province, reports the Aljazeera.

Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman said opposition fighters, including members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, had taken most of the crew prisoner.

Another airman survived the crash but was reportedly killed by his captors, and the fate of a suspected sixth airman was unknown, the observatory said.

Syria’s state news agency confirmed that a helicopter had crashed in Idlib after a mechanical problem and said the authorities were looking for the crew.

President Bashar al-Assad has denied that barrel bombs are used by the military.

BDST: 0907 HRS, MAR 23, 2015