A Jordanian pilot has been captured by Islamic State militants after his plane was downed during coalition air raids in Syria, the Jordanian army says.

An army statement read on state television said: "Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life."

Jordan did not say whether the plane had been shot down but said it had crashed during a Jordanian air force "military mission against the hideouts of the terrorist group".

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said IS supporters said the plane was brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria.

The militants claimed to have used a heat-seeking missile.

The IS in Raqqa published photographs on jihadist websites purporting to show its fighters holding the captured pilot and showed a military card identifying him.

Several photographs were released, including one showing the flyer, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men.

Another showed him on land, surrounded by about a dozen armed men.

The images were verified by two relatives contacted by the Reuters news agency, who said they had been notified by the head of the Jordanian air force that the pilot was First Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh, aged 27. The army separately confirmed his name.

A friend said Mr Kasaesbeh, who is from a prominent Jordanian family, was fervent in his commitment to his mission and felt it was a religious duty to fight extremist groups such as Islamic State that were "distorting the true spirit of Islam".

Jordan is among a number of countries that have joined the US-led alliance carrying out airstrikes against IS after the jihadis seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain are taking part in the action in Syria alongside the US.

Originally posted at 9.34am