Russian jet in Syria: Turkey shoots down Russian Su-24, pilot killed by Syrian rebels

Описание: Originally published on 25 November, 2015

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The pilots of a downed Russian jet were shot at by Syrian rebels as they parachuted into Syrian territory on Tuesday. One died while he was still in the air, but the other is alive after being rescued by Russian forces.

Russia said that the Su-24 was flying over Syrian territory when it was hit by air-to-air missiles fired by Turkish F-16s.

“For the entire duration of the flight, the aircraft was exclusively over Syrian territory,” Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement posted on its website cited by Reuters.

The Turkish military, however, says the aircraft had been warned 10 times over five minutes about violating Turkish airspace.

In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Turkey said the warplane flew over Turkey for 17 seconds and for 2.19 kilometers.

Turkish F-16s shot the aircraft down at 9:24 a.m. The pilots ejected but were spotted by Syrian rebels, who opened fire with machine guns. One was killed before he hit the ground. The other was rescued by Russian forces.

The Su-24 crashed in Syrian territory, 4 kilometers from the border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the Turkish action as a “stab in the back” and warned that it would lead to “serious consequences” for Russian-Turkish relations.

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