One Russian pilot of a warplane downed by Turkey in Syria on
Tuesday was killed by rebels and the second is missing after they both
parachuted, rebel and opposition sources said.
A Russian helicopter was also blown up by rebels following an
emergency landing in the Syrian government-held territory after it was damaged
by rebel fire, but its crew was able to escape, a monitor said.
The sources told AFP that the first pilot of the downed warplane
was killed by opposition forces who shot at him as he landed after ejecting.
Several videos circulating online and shared on opposition social
media sites purported to show the dead pilot surrounded by rebels from
different factions.
Fadi Ahmed, a spokesman for the First Coastal Front rebel group,
said "the Russian pilot was killed by gunfire as he fell with his
parachute" in the Jabal Turkman area of Latakia province on the coast.
"The 10th Brigade (rebel group) transferred the body of the
dead Russian to the local rebel joint operations room," added Omar
Jablawi, a media activist working with rebels in the area.
He declined to specify exactly where the joint operations room was
located.
The sources said rebels were still searching for the second
Russian pilot of the Su-24 aircraft, which Ankara said was downed by Turkish
forces after violating its territory.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian helicopters
were combing the area between Jabal Turkman and government-held Kassab on the
Turkish border searching for the second Russian.
Nearby, the monitor said rebels fired on a Russian helicopter, damaging
it and forcing it to make an emergency landing in government-held territory.
The crew was able to flee but rebels blew up the helicopter
shortly afterwards with a TOW anti-tank missile, the monitor said.
A video circulating online purported to show the helicopter on the
ground being blown up.
US-made TOW missiles have been supplied by Washington and other
rebel backers to several opposition groups in Syria.
Also online, opposition and rebel accounts on Twitter and Facebook
circulated several videos depicting from several angles the man said to be the
dead Russian pilot.
- Bloodied face -
In them, a man can been seen in military uniform with straps
across his chest and blood on his face.
Rebels refer to the man as a "Russian pilot" and
"Russian pig", but the location of the footage was not specified and
it was impossible to verify the videos.
Russia began an air campaign in Syria on September 30, saying it
was targeting the Islamic State jihadist group and other
"terrorists".
But Syria's rebel groups and their backers accuse Moscow of
focusing on Islamist and moderate opposition fighters rather than jihadists.
Fierce battles have raged for the past several days between rebel
groups, not including IS, and regime forces backed by Russian air power in
parts of northern Latakia province.
The regime has made some advances, though the frontline has
shifted in both directions, according to the Observatory.
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