Tensions in the Middle East continue to rise after a Russian rescue helicopter was "shot down" by Syrian rebels. The helicopter had been searching for missing pilots from a Russian fighter jet that was shot after a dispute over Turkey's airspace, as previously reported by HNGN.
The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in Syria's Latakia province, The Mirror reports. Syrian fighters used a TOW missile on the helicopter followed by a second missile, according to USA Today. The helicopter's occupants managed to make it out safely, the newspaper reports.
The news comes on the heels of a dispute between Russia and Turkey after the latter shot down a Russian fighter jet it claimed had violated its airspace. Russian President Vladmir Putin has warned of "significant consequences" and called the action a "stab in the back."
Putin claims the fighter jet was shot down in Syria, just a few kilometers from the Turkish border. The fighter planes have been involved in the bombing campaign in Syria. Turkish officials have claimed that the jet was warned 10 times in five minutes before they shot it down.
Video footage of the fighter jet being downed from the sky as well as gruesome footage of the bodies of the pilots has surfaced, according to The Mirror.
NATO officials have expressed concern over Turkey's action, saying they were concerned that Turkey did not escort the Russian plane out of its airspace, according to Reuters.
Both the U.S. and France have called on the two countries to reduce escalation of the situation, according to The Guardian.
