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Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot down over Syria – Russian MoD

RT | November 24, 2015

A Russian Su-24 fighter has been shot down in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding the plane hadn’t violated Turkish airspace and was flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters.

“During the flight, the aircraft was flying within the borders of Syria, which was registered by objective monitoring data,” the ministry said, adding that the aircraft was “supposedly shot down from the ground.”

The pilots managed to eject, the ministry said, adding their fate is as yet unknown.

The downing of the Russian plane is “a very serious incident,” said Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He added, however, that it is too early to draw conclusions until the whole situation is clear.

Reports of a downed plane emerged earlier in Turkish media. A Habertürk TV reporter on the scene said the aircraft “turned into a fireball.” Numerous witnesses wrote on social media, saying thick plumes of smoke have been rising from the jet crash site.

Turkish military added the plane had been warned at least 10 times over a period of five minutes before being shot down by two Turkish F-16 fighter jets. He said the plane had violated Turkish airspace.

The plane reportedly crashed in a village mostly populated by Syrian Turkmen. The place has been a hotspot between the opposition and the Syrian Army.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has met with officials from the Foreign Ministry. He instructed them to consult with NATO and the UN on the latest developments on the Syrian border, Davutoglu’s office said in a statement.

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UPDATE:

Turkish F16 fighter shot down Russian Su24 jet over Syria, MoD confirms

RT | November 24, 2015

The Russian Su24 military jet was shot down by a Turkish F-16 over Syrian territory while returning to Khmeimim airbase, the Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed.

The Ministry’s Twitter says that “analysis of the objective monitoring data” showed the downed SU-24 jet did not violate Turkish air space.

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he regards the downing of the SU-24 as “a stab in the back” by “terrorist accomplices,” adding that Turkey gets the flow of oil from Islamic State-controlled territories.

President Putin said the SU-24 pilots “were conducting an operation to fight ISIS in northern Latakia which is a mountainous area where the rebels – mostly from the Russian Federation – are stationed. In this sense they were carrying out their duty to make preventive strikes on terrorists who could return to Russia at any time.”

The president said Russia had always treated Turkey as a friendly state, but concluded: “This tragic event will cause serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations. […] I don’t know who was in need of what was done today, at any rate, it wasn’t us.”

The SU-24 tactical bomber jet was downed on Tuesday morning after being hit by an air-to-air missile fired from a Turkish F-16 fighter jet.

Both pilots managed to eject, but were reportedly shot while parachuting by rebels from the ground. Video footage released by the rebels shortly afterwards shows the dead body of a Russian pilot being inspected by armed men. A Russian air rescue team from Latakia airbase is still airborne searching for the other pilot.

November 24, 2015 Posted by aletho | War Crimes | NATO, Russia, Syria, Turkey | 5 Comments