Turkey Shoots Down Russian Jet Near Syria Border After It Violated Turkish

A video has emerged showing the moment a Russian military jet was shot down by Turkish military near the Syrian border. Television footage showed it catching fire and crashing…

The fate of the second pilot was not immediately known. It said the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters and that it was apparently gunned down from the ground, the Sputnik news agency reported.

On October 5, following two earlier Russian violations of Turkish airspace reported by Turkey, the NAC accused Russia of “irresponsible behavior”, and sternly warned Moscow it was courting “extreme danger” by sending its warplanes into the skies of an alliance member country. The defence ministry states that the aircraft was excessively over Syrian territory during its entire flight.

The sources told AFP the first pilot was killed by opposition forces who shot at him as he landed after ejecting from the plane.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was briefed by the head of the military, while Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ordered consultations with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the United Nations and related countries, their respective offices said. Turkish reports said the incident happened in the border area between Turkey’s southern Hatay province and an area in northwest Syria populated by the Turkic-speaking Turkmen minority.

“A Russian Su-24 plane was downed under the rules of engagement because it violated the Turkish air space despite the warnings”, the presidency said. “Our F-16s took the necessary steps to defend Turkey’s sovereign territory”, a Turkish official said in an email.

Turkey said the Su-24 ignored several warnings that it was nearing, then intruding, into Turkish airspace. Anyway, this morning’s incident underlines the complications of military action in Syria: how can the United States and Russian Federation act in concert if they are backing different sides?

Last month, Turkish jets shot down an unidentified drone that had also violated Turkey’s airspace.

The Russian plane was supporting Syrian troops which have been on the offensive in an area controlled by several insurgent groups including al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the 2nd Coastal Division and the 10th Coast Division that includes local Turkmen fighters.