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Downed Russian pilot kills two Syrian rebels.. then blows himself up

- BY CHRIS HUGHES c.hughes@mirror.co.uk

A RUSSIAN pilot who ejected from his stricken jet shot two Syrian jihadists then blew himself up to avoid capture.

Major Roman Filipov yelled “this is for our guys” before pulling a pin from a grenade and is being hailed a hero in Russia.

Footage taken by al-Nusrah militants shows shots fired after he landed, followed by an explosion and the burning wreckage of his Sukhoi-25, which was hit by missiles at 13,000ft. Filipov, from Vladivosto­k, has been nominated for the Kremlin’s highest honour – the Hero of Russia – which President Vladimir Putin is expected to grant. Syrian and Russian forces were said to be at the scene in Idlib, the last rebel-held province, to retrieve the pilot’s remains. Russia’s defence ministry confirmed: “The pilot was killed in fighting against terrorists.” Russia has waged an aerial campaign against Syria’s opposition since intervenin­g in the civil war on the side of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, in 2015. Al-Nusrah claimed its fighters killed the pilot after he ejected.

 ??  ?? FIRE FIGHT Footage of armed rebels at crash site BURNING WRECK Wing of the downed Sukhoi-25 AERIAL CAMPAIGN A Sukhoi-25 fighter HAILED A HERO Pilot Major Filipov & his gun
FIRE FIGHT Footage of armed rebels at crash site BURNING WRECK Wing of the downed Sukhoi-25 AERIAL CAMPAIGN A Sukhoi-25 fighter HAILED A HERO Pilot Major Filipov & his gun

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