Russian fighter jet shot over Syria 1 captured pilot 'dead'

11/24/2015 8:47:08 AM

(MENAFN- Asia Times) The war plane crashes in flames in a mountainous area in northern Syria after it was shot down by Turkish fighter jets

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

The aircraft crashed 1kilometer away from the Turkish border in the Syrian territory.

Addressing media from Amman where he was set to hold talks on Syria with King Abdullah Russian President Vladimir Putin said the supporters of Islamic State “stabbed us in the back” and the plane downing incident is going to seriously affect Russia-Turkey ties.

As the plane went down in flames the two Russian pilots managed to eject but were captured alive according toone report.

But a video posted online showed armed men standing around a captured Russian pilot who appearedto be dead. His face was bruised and bloodied. The men seemed to be happy and were praising Allah with some regretting that they had not burned him on the spot.

“A Russian pilot“ a voice is heard saying as a group of men gathered around him.“Allahu Akbar (God is great)” a voice said.

The fate of the other pilot is not known.

The Russian defence ministry said choppers are searching for the two pilots in the mountainous terrainwhere the plane crashed.

Putin said: the Russian planes and pilots did not pose any threat to Turkey. Still the fighter jet was show down.

“I don’t know in whose interest today event is. But I am sure it is not in Russia’s interest. Does Turkey want Nato to serve IS’ interest?” he said.

“Oil products flowed from the captured area to Turkey” he said.

Over the past five days Russianair strikes had torched more than 1000 tankers taking stolen crude oil to Islamic State refineries.

The Russian assembly Duma said the downing of the plane showed Turkey was supporting the Islamic State.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who was planning to visit Turkey on November 25 to discuss Syria has canceled the trip according to unconfirmed reports.

Two Turkish residents were injured byfalling debris fromthe downed Russian bomber Ulusal TV channel said.

Turkey had warned Russiait has every right to retaliate and take necessary measures in the event its border security is threatened as a result of the Russianmilitary's operations targeting civilian Turkmen Syrians on the Turkish-Syrian border.

The warning was conveyed to RussianAmbassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov on Nov. 19 as he was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in reaction to Russianair strikes on Turkmen villages in northwestern Syria only a few kilometers from the Turkish border.

Reports of the downed plane emerged earlier in Turkish media. A Haberturk 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 and known by Turks as “Turkmen Mountain”. 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.

NATO is due to hold an emergency meeting at 5 pm Russian times.

Turkey called this week for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in neighboring Syria and last week Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the bombing of their villages.

Ankara has traditionally expressed solidarity with Syrian Turkmens who are Syrians of Turkish descent.

About 1700 people have fled the mountainous Syrian area to the Turkish border as a result of fighting in the last three days a Turkish official said Monday. Russian jets have bombed the area in support of ground operations by Syrian government forces.

3 reporters hurt in rockets strike

Two RT correspondents and a TASS reporter were injured after a press convoy came under shell fire (watch the video clip)on the Turkish-Syrian border. The injuries were minor as the reporters were wearing bullet-proof vests.

The crew were passing the village of Al-Dagmashliya in the province of Latakia controlled by President Bashar Assad's forces when they came under shelling.

RT's Roman Kosarev sustained a concussion while RT Arabic's Sargon Hadaya was injured by pieces of shrapnel in his back and leg.The TASS reporter was injured by shrapnel in his hand.

Kosarev said that press convoy was hit by an anti-tank missile coming from a rebel-controlled area some 2.5 km away.

The RT reporters have returned to Russia's military base in Latakia and are being treated by medics.

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