This article was originally published at SISMEC. Hejazis, Palestinians, Iraqis, Chechens…and now Syrians Sometime in the morning of June 21, Syrian pilot Colonel Hassam Merei al-Hamade walked across the tarmac of the al-Dumair military airport and climbed into the cockpit of a Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jet, determined to desert. The colonel took off rapidly to avoid radar detectors and flew 110 miles south. Air command lost contact with the jet as it left Syrian airspace at 10:34am. By 11-o’clock, the colonel [...]

Categories: Clips, Jordan, Middle East, SISMEC • Tags: al-Dumair, Ankara, Colonel Hassam Merei al-Hamade, Damascus, Hashemites, Jordan, Mafraq, MiG-21, Syria