Syrian rebels chant 'Allahu Akbar' over body of dead Russian pilot after Turkey shoots down jet for violating its air-space... then chopper searching for co-pilot is blown up by anti-Assad troops
- Turkish army has shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 war plane near its Syrian border, officials have confirmed
- Russian jet had violated Turkish air space and ignored ten warnings in five minutes, Ankara military officials said
- Vladimir Putin called Turkey's decision to shoot down the plane 'a stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists'
- Russia claims the jet, which crashed in Syria's Turkomen Mountains, had been in Syrian airspace when it was hit
- In response, Turkish army released flight tracking data showing the jet violated its airspace at its southern-most tip
- One pilot dead, the other reportedly captured by Turkmen - ethnic Turks subjected to Russian airstrikes this week
- A video later emerged claiming to show a separate rebel group blowing up Russian helicopter sent to rescue pilot
Syrian rebels chant 'Allahu Akbar' over the dead body of a Russian pilot shot down by a Turkish jet today in shocking footage released shortly before a separate group blew up a Putin chopper sent to find survivors.
A video filmed by rebels in Syria's Turkomen Mountains, an area which has been the cause of recent tensions between Turkey and Russia, sees ethnic Turkish anti-government fighters celebrating and cheering as they discover the body of the pilot.
This was followed by a second video, claiming to show members of the U.S.-trained Free Syrian Army firing an anti-tank missile and destroying the helicopter sent by Russian forces to rescue the surviving pilot.
The Russian two-pilot Sukhoi Su-24 jet was shot down by F-16 fighter planes on Tuesday morning, after it violated Turkish airspace and ignored nearly a dozen warnings by the army, Ankara military officials said.
This has been refuted by a furious Vladimir Putin who said the jet never left Syrian airspace, and the Russian President instead accused Turkey of funding ISIS, and using its military to protect the terrorist organisation.
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This image shows the moment the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter planes near the Turkish-Syrian border, in Hatay, which has seen NATO call an 'extraordinary' meeting and Russian President Putin warn of 'serious consequences'
'Proof'? This image, left, accompanied by a video, right, claims to show one of the Russian pilots found dead by Turkmen rebels
Footage reportedly filmed in Syria's Turkomen Mountains shows local fighters cheer as they discover the body of one of the Russian pilots
At least a dozen men surround the corpse of the pilot, dressed in Russian military fatigues, and some are heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar'
The video, posted on Twitter by a man believed to be a Syrian-Turkmen rebel soldier, shows at least a dozen men surrounding the corpse of the pilot, dressed in Russian military fatigues, and some are heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar' – 'God is great'.
Both pilots ejected themselves from the jet and a separate video shows them parachuting down to the ground as fighters fire at them.
A spokesman for the rebel group said the dead pilot, who can be seen covered in bruises and burns in the video, was already deceased when he landed, and that they are conducting search operations in the area to find the second crew member.
The pilot in the video has since been identified as Sergei Rumyantsev, a major at Shagol air force base near Chelyabinsk, east of the Ural mountains in south-central Russia.
Jahed Ahmad of the 10th Brigade in the Coast, a group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, said his group would consider exchanging the body of the Russian pilot for prisoners held by the Syrian government.
The area where the plane went down is mainly populated by Turkmens - Syrians citizens, but ethnic Turks - and is the target of a current Syrian government offensive, where President Bashar al-Assad's ground troops are supported by Russian airstrikes.
A picture has emerged of Alpaslan Celik (centre), a deputy commander in a Syrian Turkmen brigade, holding handles believed to be parts of a parachute belonging to a pilot of the downed Russian warplane
Aim: A video claimed to be filmed by the Syrian Free Army shows a rebel fighter firing a tank missile at a helicopter
Fire: The Syrian Free Army claims that this is the moment when they destroyed a Russian army helicopter which had been sent on a search and rescue mission to save the two Russian pilots of the jet which was shot down by Turkey this morning
Destroyed: A rebel spokesman said troops fired a Tao missile that destroyed the helicopter after it landed and its pilots had left the aircraft
The Turkomen Mountains is controlled by several insurgent groups, who are not allied with ISIS, including al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, The Free Syrian Army and the 10th Brigade in the Coast, that consists of local Turkmen fighters.
The Turkish army said the pilots of the Russian jet had been warned 'ten times in the space of five minutes' before the plane was shot down, a statement which has since been backed up by the U.S. military.
'We were able to hear everything that was going on, these (communications) were on open channels,' Baghdad-based military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said, confirming that ten warnings were issued by Turkish pilots without response.
He added it was not immediately clear on which side of the Turkish-Syrian border the Russian jet had been flying, and it would take some time to analyse data before arriving at that determination.
Meanwhile, President Putin called Turkey's decision to down the plane a 'stab in the back' by the accomplices of ISIS, as his Defence Ministry still claims the jet was flying over Syria and never entered Turkish airspace.
'The loss we suffered today came from a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists,' President Putin said, speaking at a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday afternoon.
'We will never tolerate such atrocities as happened today and we hope that the international community will find the strength to join forces and fight this evil,' Putin said.
The president warned that 'today's tragic event will have serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations', shortly before Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelled tomorrow's visit to Turkey, where the two nations were due to discuss Syria.
Putin boldly claimed that Turkey has been buying oil from ISIS, funding the terrorist group, and accused Ankara of protecting the jihadists with the country's military, Moscow-funded RT.com reports.
In a separate incident, sources told AFP in Beirut that a Russian helicopter in the same area in Syria was destroyed by rebels on the ground after being forced to make an emergency landing following damage from rebel fire.
A Syrian military source told AFP that a unit of Syrian regime special forces saved the dozen-strong Russian commando team and brought them back to the regime stronghold of Latakia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Turkey's decision to down the plane a 'stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists'
Conflicting stories: Turkey claims they shot the plane down as it was violating the country's airspace after the pilots ignored 'ten warnings in the space of five minutes', but Russia says the jet was in Syrian airspace
Flight: This map shows the route of the Russian jet (shown in red), based on data released by the Turkish government, including where it violated Turkish airspace, and the area in the Turkomen Mountains where it crashed
Just hours before the Russian jet was shot down, Ankara called for a U.N Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmen areas in Syria, which have forced some 1,700 civilians to flee their homes in the last three days, according to Turkish officials.
It followed a summoning of Moscow's ambassador on Friday, when Ankara demanded an immediate end to the Russian military operation near the Syrian border saying the Russian actions did not 'constitute a fight against terrorism' but the bombing of civilians.
Ambassador Andrey Karlov was warned during the meeting that the Russian operations could lead to serious consequences, the ministry said.
Turkish officials said the Russian plane was first warned that it was within ten miles of the Turkish border, and the aircraft then crossed over Turkish territory, adding that a second plane had also approached the border and been warned.
'The data we have is very clear. There were two planes approaching our border, we warned them as they were getting too close,' a senior Turkish official said.
'We warned them to avoid entering Turkish airspace before they did, and we warned them many times. Our findings show clearly that Turkish airspace was violated multiple times. And they violated it knowingly,' the official said.
Hit: Video footage shows the plane coming down engulfed in flames after being shot by Turkish fighter jets
Filmed: The incident was caught on camera and has been broadcast on Turkish local TV and online
NATO allies will hold an 'extraordinary' meeting later today at Ankara's request to discuss Tuesday morning's incident, an alliance official said.
'At the request of Turkey, the North Atlantic Council will hold an extraordinary meeting at 4pm. The aim of this extraordinary NAC is for Turkey to inform Allies about the downing of a Russian airplane,' the official said.
The North Atlantic Council consists of ambassadors from the 28 NATO member states.
A Turkish military statement, issued before it was confirmed that the jet was Russian, said the plane entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi, in Hatay province.
'On Nov. 24, 2015 at around 09.20am(7.20am GMT), a plane whose nationality is not known violated the Turkish airspace despite several warnings (ten times within five minutes) in the area of Yayladagi, Hatary.
'Two F-16 planes on aerial patrol duty in the area intervened against the plane in question in accordance with the rules of engagement at 09.24am(7.24am GMT).'
The Turkish Army later released a radar analysis image which they say tracks the movement of the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet, showing where it entered Turkish air space, and where it went down.
'This isn't an action against any specific country. Our F-16s took the necessary steps to defend Turkey's sovereign territory,' a Turkish official told news agencies on condition of anonymity.
Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement that they are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet.
'The Ministry of Defence would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight.'
The statement also claimed that the Sukhoi-24 had been shot down from the ground at the altitude of 6,000metres (3.73m).
Vladimir Putin's spokesman called the downing of the Su-24 warplane a 'very serious incident' but declined to comment further until more facts emerged.
'It is just impossible to say something without having full information,' said Dmitry Peskov.
Russia's government-run TV Zvezda claimed the warplane had been in Syrian airspace the entire time, which allegedly could be proven by 'control systems', a ministry spokesman said.
'It's the kind of thing we're been warning about,' said Ian Kearns, director of the European Leadership Network think-tank in London.
'And it's a direct military engagement between a NATO country and Russia, so I think it's a serious incident in anybody's book.'
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has spoken with the chief of military staff and the foreign minister about the developments on the Syrian border, the prime minister's office said in a statement, without mentioning the downed jet.
He has ordered the foreign ministry to consult with NATO, the United Nations and related countries on the latest developments, his office said.
One of the pilots can be seen parachuting down after ejecting from the plane, as the wreckage burns
This image released by the Turkish Army reportedly shows the flight radar tracking the movement of the downed Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet (in red), showing where it entered Turkish air space and where it went down. The blue line illustrates the Turkish border with Syria
Ejected: The two pilots of the Russian Sukhoi-24 jet can be seen parachuting down after the plane was hit
Russia's Ministry of Defence claims the jet was in Syrian airspace, and was shot down from the ground
Last month, Turkish jets shot down an unidentified drone that had also violated Turkey's airspace.
Turkey and Russia have long been at loggerheads over the Syrian conflict, with Ankara seeking Assad's overthrow while Moscow does everything to keep him in power.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was due to visit Turkey on Wednesday to discuss Syria, in a trip arranged before this incident, which he abruptly canceller on Tuesday afternoon. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is meanwhile expected to visit Russia for talks with Putin in late December.
Russia's participation in the Syrian peace process talks in Vienna, the co-operation on the UN Security Council resolution and meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nato leaders provided signs of a renewed diplomatic engagement between Moscow and the West in recent weeks.
French President Francois Hollande will meet Mr Putin on Thursday and Russia has offered co-operation in the fight against IS following the atrocities in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt.
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