DAMASCUS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- A Syrian warplane crashed Friday east of the capital Damascus as a result of a malfunction, state-run TV said.

The war jet crashed in the eastern countryside of Damascus, after the pilot succeeded to eject himself, said the report. It added that search is ongoing for the pilot.

The report spelled no details about the exact crash site, as the eastern countryside of Damascus is largely under the control of the rebels, who have downed several planes during the five-year-old crisis.

Last month, a warplane was also crashed in the central province of Hama, in what the official media reports said was a malfunction.

The report comes as the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights accused the government forces of killing 18 people by shelling on the town of Otaya in eastern Damascus on Thursday amid an ongoing military operations in parts of the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus.