Turkish F-16's shoot down Russian Su-24
Quote:
Turkish fighter jets have shotdown a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, with conflicting claims over whether the downed aircraft violated Turkish airspace.
Turkey's military said two Turkish F-16s were involved in shooting down the plane, after issuing 10 warnings in five minutes. But Russia's defence ministry said it could prove that the plane, a Sukhoi Su-24, was over Syrian air space for the duration of its flight.
Footage from private broadcaster Haberturk TV showed a warplane going down in flames in a woodland area, a long plume of smoke trailing behind it.
The plane went down in area known by Turks as Turkmen Mountain, in northern Syria near the Turkish border, Haberturk said. Separate footage from Turkey's Anadolu Agency showed two crew members parachuting out of the jet before it crashed.
Al Jazeera reported that the plane came down in the village of Yamadi in Syria's Latakia governorate. Russian military helicopters were searching for the pilots from the warplane, Turkey's Dogan news agency said. One of the crew was in the hands of Turkmen forces in Syria, who were searching for the other pilot, broadcaster CNN Turk reported, citing local sources. Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan has been briefed by the head of the military, while prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu has ordered consultations with NATO, the United Nations and related countries, their respective offices said.
A Syrian military source said the incident was being investigated. Russia has repeatedly carried out air strikes in Syria in defence of president Bashar al-Assad, who is fighting a multi-faceted insurgency involving Islamic State and other groups.
Turkey, a member of NATO, called this week for aUN Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in neighbouring 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.
Source:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-24/turkey-shoots-down-jet-near-syrian-border/6970776
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/t ... 19290.html