Turkish fighter jets shoot down Russian military plane along Syrian border

Turkish fighter jets have shot down a Russian military plane along the Syrian border.

A spokesman for the Russian Defence Department said the Su-24 fighter was shot down in Syrian airspace, adding it had not violated Turkish airspace and was flying at an altitude of 6,000 metres.

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"Presumably as a result of firing, an Su-24 plane of the Russian forces crashed in the Syrian Arab Republic," Russian media quoted the defence department as saying.

A Turkish military spokesman told Rueters the fighter was warned before F-16 fighter jets shot it down.

A Habertürk TV reporter at the scene said the jet "turned into a fireball" as it hurtled toward the ground. The reporter added the plane violated Turkish airspace.

The Russian pilots managed to eject before their plane crashed. The pilots have not yet made contact with Moscow and condition was unknown.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was briefed by the head of the military, while Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ordered consultations with NATO, the United Nations and related countries, their respective offices said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the warplane crashed in a mountainous area in the northern countryside of Latakia province, where there had been aerial bombardment earlier and where pro-government forces have been battling insurgents on the ground.

With Reuters.

News break – November 24