--- description: ISIS militants have acquired three "warplanes that can fly and maneuver," according to an unverified report. title: ISIL: ISIS Has Planes, Syria Opposition Group Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [conflict](/tag/conflict/) ## conflict Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watchdog Group Says ISIS Has Warplanes  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 17, 2014 9:57 PM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 17, 2014 9:57 PM CUT Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) have acquired three “warplanes that can fly and maneuver,” [a watchdog Syrian opposition group said in a new report](http://syriahr.com/en/2014/10/warplanes-under-the-hands-of-the-islamic-state/ "undefined"). The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said former Iraqi army officials who have joined ISIS are training militants to operate the planes at an airbase near the contested Syrian city of Aleppo. The report, which has not been verified, cites anonymous “reliable” sources. The U.S. military said it’s not aware of ISIS gaining air capability. “We’re not aware of \[ISIS\] conducting any flight operations in Syria or elsewhere,” U.S. Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder told [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/us-mideast-crisis-jets-idUSKCN0I60TM20141017 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3518164/isis-isil-syria-planes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3518164/isis-isil-syria-planes/"},"headline":"Watchdog Group Says ISIS Has Warplanes","datePublished":"2014-10-17T21:57:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:52:14.360Z","description":"Ex-Iraqi army officials are reportedly training ISIS fighters to fly them","url":"https://time.com/3518164/isis-isil-syria-planes/","keywords":["conflict","Syria","Iraq","ISIS"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/conflict/","name":"conflict"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3518164/isis-isil-syria-planes/","name":"Watchdog Group Says ISIS Has Warplanes"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What the ISIS Flag Says About the Militant Group","description":"The black and white standard of the Sunni militants gives some insight into how the group sees itself","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QFjP70IG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-17T14:21:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QFjP70IG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3518164/isis-isil-syria-planes/","duration":"PT2M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3518164/isis-isil-syria-planes/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```