Syria claimed it has shot down an unmanned surveillance plane of the United States as it flew near the city of Latakia in northwest Syria.

Syria's state-run Sana news agency says the Syrian military made the attack after it deemed the U.S. drone to be "hostile."

The Syrian military has not been joining in the raids against the Islamic State (IS) and if confirmed, this will be the first time that Syria made an offensive move since the start of the coalition strikes against the Islamic militants.

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The Pentagon is not confirming the attack, although U.S. officials say, it has lost contact with the drone. The site where the incident happened is the stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad previously said Syrians are only provided "general messages" about the coalition strikes, through third party sources.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government has been criticized for supposedly using chlorine in an assault in the north-western province of Idlib on Monday. Six persons were reportedly killed in the attack, including three children.

The allegation that Syria is using chlorine in its operations came from Syrian activists.

Syria, however, refutes this allegation, calling it a mere propaganda against government.

Chlorine is a common industrial chemical. Its use as a weapon is prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Syria is a signatory to the treaty, after its experience with the nerve agent sarin. Hundreds of people were killed in August 2013 after sarin was used in an attack in Damascus.

Western countries suspected that the Syrian government was behind the attack, but Syria claimed the attack was carried out by the rebels in the country.

The U.N. Security Council has warned that it will take military action if it is proven that toxic chemicals like chlorine are being used in Syria.

The Security Council approved a resolution to this effect early this month.

The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997 is an arms control treaty which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.

Compliance to the treaty is being done by the Organisation for The Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an inter-governmental organization based in The Hague, Netherlands.

TagsU.S. drone, chlorine attack, Latakia