Russian pilot killed as jet downed in Syria
SARAQIB, SYRIA — A Russian pilot was killed Saturday in fighting with Islamists after his warplane was downed over northwest Syria, Russia's defense ministry and a monitor said.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a powerful jihadist dominated alliance said, on an affiliated media channel it had shot down the plane but made no mention of the pilot.
"We were able to bring down the Russian warplane with a shoulder-fired missile above Saraqib in Idlib this afternoon," said Mahmoud al-Turkmani who, according to the statement, heads HTS's "air defence brigade."
He said the attack was in retaliation for a ferocious bombing campaign by Russian warplanes over Idlib.
HTS, which is dominated by Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria, controls Idlib and has sought to fight back a ferocious Russian-backed assault by Syrian government troops.
An AFP correspondent who arrived at the crash site on Saturday saw what appeared to be the charred remains of the plane, including a wing with a red star still visible.
Firefighters arrived to put out flames that had been spewing dark smoke into the wintry Syrian sky.
The Russian defense ministry confirmed that the Su-25 aircraft was shot down over Idlib province and said the pilot was killed "in fighting against terrorists."
Meanwhile, seven Turkish soldiers were killed yesterday in Turkey's offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria, including five who died in a single attack on a tank, the army said.
The losses marked the highest toll in one day for the Turkish military in operation "Olive Branch", launched on January 20 against Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia seen by Ankara as a terror group.
The attack on the tank, details of which were not disclosed, was also the single deadliest attack on the military of the offensive so far.
The latest clashes brought to 14 the number of Turkish troops killed so far in operation.
The Turkish army and allied Ankara-backed Syrian rebel forces are seeking to oust the YPG from its western border stronghold of Afrin but the operation so far has been marked by fierce clashes.