The Russian jet was warned 10 times in five minutes before being shot down, according to the Turkish air force.
Syrian fighters on the ground and Turkish sources told NBC News that the Russian jet's pilots ejected and landed in an area north of Latakia, Syria, that is controlled by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. Russia has an air base in Latakia which is used to launch bombing raids targeting Assad's foes — including ISIS.
Footage from Turkish Haberturk TV showed a warplane going down in flames in a woodland area with a long plume of smoke trailing behind it.
Citing the Kremlin's Defense Ministry, Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency also reported that a Su-24 had been downed in Turkey near the border with Syria, but said it had been shot down by ground fire. The plane was flying above Syrian territory and not Turkey, according to that report.
The head of the Turkish military briefed President Tayyip Erdogan on the incident, while Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ordered consultations with NATO, the United Nations and related countries, Reuters reported citing their respective offices.
Russia's Defense Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
According to Russia's Defense Ministry, there are 69 warplanes based in Latakia. Russian planes have run thousands of bombing raids in Syria since Sept. 30 when the Kremlin announced it would start targeting ISIS.
However, U.S. officials say many of the strikes appear to be hitting areas where ISIS doesn't have a presence.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his air force to step-up bombings after a passenger plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai on Oct. 31, killing all 224 on board. On Thursday, ISIS claimed it brought down the Metrojet plane with an improvised bomb.
(NBC News)
Comments
Post a Comment