UPDATE 9:46 am.: Turkmen brigade in Syria killed the two pilots of the downed Russian jet as they tried to descend using parachutes, according to Reuters.
--
Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday that one of its military fighter jets was shot down in Syria, after it was fired upon from the ground, according to Interfax news agency, Huffington Post reported.
The plane, a Su-24, was downed as per the rules of engagement after repeated warnings as it violated Turkey's airspace, according to the Turkish military.
However, the Russian Defense Ministry claims the fighter jet had not violated airspace regulations. The ministry added that the pilots of the jet ejected safely and made it to the ground unharmed with the help of parachutes.
Video from broadcaster Haberturk TV shows the military jet coming down in flames, leaving behind plumes of smoke as a trail. The aircraft crashed in northern Syria near the border, in a place known as "Turkmen Mountain" in the coastal province of Latakia, according to The Guardian.
Russia has been carrying out a series of airstrikes in the war-torn country of Syria in defense of President Bashar al-Assad.
Last week, Ankara called for a U.N. security council meeting to oppose the Russian bombing of Turkmen villages near the Syrian border. The area is under the protection of Turkey and the capital, Ankara, has taken a stand for Syrian Turkmen, who are of mixed Syrian and Turkish descent, according to The Daily Sabah.
Suriye sınırında düşen askeri uçaktan çok özel kareler. Paraşütle atlayan pilot da karede Fotoğraflar AA pic.twitter.com/DNqneFTLoD
— Fırat Yurdakul (@FiratYurdakul) November 24, 2015
#SONDAKİKA! Türkmen Dağı'nın yakınına savaş uçağı düştü... Uçağın düşme anını Habertürk TV ekibi görüntüledi https://t.co/PCUK9Z6RTA — Habertürk TV (@HaberturkTV) November 24, 2015
#BREAKING Turkish jets downed a warplane violating air space, warplane crashes in Syria, nationality unknown pic.twitter.com/DpW8Al6ESn
— CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) November 24, 2015
With reporting by Jelani James
