Russian rescue helicopter 'shot down by US-Backed Syrian rebels' while searching for pilots of plane downed by Turkey

A Russian rescue helicopter has been shot down by Syrian rebels while searching for pilots missing after Turkey downed a Russian jet.

The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a government-held area in Syria's Latakia province.

A Syrian insurgent group, which uses U.S. Tow missiles, said its fighters hit the helicopter with an anti-tank missile.

Video footage has emerged online appearing to show the helicopter after it crashed in dense woodland.

Plumes of smoke can be seen coming from the aircraft.

Vladmir Putin earlier warned Turkey of "significant consequences" after the Russian plane was shot down.

Video footage was posted online which appeared to show a dead Russian pilot after a jet was shot down by Turkey

The Russian President also said the action by Turkey was a "stab in the back" and said it would have serious consequences for his country’s relations with Turkey.

Turkey claimed it shot down the fighter jet because it violated its airspace.

However, Putin said the jet was shot down in Syria, 4km from the Turkish border.

He told a media conference: "This event is beyond the normal framework of fighting against terrorism.

"Of course our military is doing heroic work against terrorism... But the loss today is a stab in the back, carried out by the accomplices of terrorists.

"....Our aircraft was downed over the territory of Syria, using air-to-air missile from a Turkish F-16."

A gruesome video appears to show Syrian rebels with a dead pilot from the jet.

A Syrian rebel group has distributed footage which they say shows the pilot.

Two pilots ejected but footage online now appears to show that one of the pilots has died. Sources now claim that the second pilot is also dead.

In the gruesome footage, a voice is heard saying "A Russian pilot.

A voice then adds: "God is great" .

It is not known what has happened to a second pilot who was in the plane.

Turkish military officials say a warplane shot down the jet because it violated its airspace.

The plane exploded in the air causing a huge fireball which fell on the Turkmen mountain on the Syrian side of the border.

Video footage captured in the area shows the jet covered in flames plummeting to the ground.

Russia has since confirmed one of its jets was shot down. Officials in Moscow also say they can prove it was flying in Syrian airspace.

The Russian Su-24 fighter plane was believed to be flying at 6,000 metres.

 The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement: "We 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."

A Turkish military statement said the plane entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi, in Hatay province.

"On November 24 2015 at around 9.20am, a plane whose nationality is not known violated the Turkish airspace despite several warnings (10 times within five minutes) in the area of Yayladagi, Hatary," the military said before the plane's nationality was confirmed.

"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 9.24am."

The decision to shoot down the jet was taken directly by the Turkish Prime Minister.

Russian fighter planes have been flying in the area as part of the Russian bombing campaign in Syria.

Turkish officials say the plane was warned 10 times in five minutes before it was eventually shot down.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the warplane crashed in a mountainous area in the northern countryside of Latakia province.

This is where there had been aerial bombardment earlier and where pro-government forces have been battling insurgents on the ground.

Both Russia and its ally, Syria's government, have carried out strikes in the area.

A Syrian military source said the reported downing was being investigated.

Footage from private Turkish broadcaster Haberturk TV showed the 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", it said.

Separate footage from Turkey's Anadolu Agency showed two pilots parachuting out of the jet before it crashed.

Turkey called this week for a U.N. 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.

About 1,700 people have fled the mountainous Syrian area to the Turkish border as a result of fighting in the last three days, a Turkish official said on Monday.

Russian jets have bombed the area in support of ground operations by Syrian government forces.

 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russian-rescue-helicopter-shot-down-6891003