Captured Syrian pilot calls on Assad forces to defect

A video uploaded to YouTube Monday evening purports to show a Syrian pilot captured by rebel forces after his plane went down earlier Monday.

Rebel groups claimed to have shot down the airplane before the pilot ejected, though Syrian state-run media claimed the plane crashed due to a technical malfunction.

In the video, the pilot, identified as Col. Moufid Muhammed Sleiman, is seen calling on other members of President Bashar Assad’s forces to defect, according to a translation provided by an opposition website.

Asked about his mission and treatment, Sleiman tells his interviewer,  Abou Allayass of the Ahfad Muhammed Brigade, that he was bombing the area of al-Muhassan. He adds that the bruises on his face are from the plane being shot down and not from abuse by rebels.

The clip ends with Allayass pledging to treat the captured pilot well, saying, “This prisoner will be treated according to our ethics and our religion and our commitment to Geneva convention in regard to prisoners of war. God is great and victory to our blessed revolution.”

NBC reported earlier in August that rebels had smuggled anti-aircraft missiles into Syria from Turkey.

Ilan Ben Zion contributed to this report.