Turkey shoots down Russian war plane ‘for violating in its airspace’

Turkish F16s have shot down a Russian jet which violated the country’s airspace, according to presidential sources official. It is understood the jet’s pilot was warned ten times over five minutes before being shot down. Moscow confirmed one of its SU-24 warplanes had been downed. TV footage showed a plane going down in flames in a woodland area, a long plume of smoke trailing behind it. The warplane went down in an area known by Turks as “Turkmen Mountain” in northern Syria near the Turkish border, private broadcaster Haberturk said.

We are trying to identify the nationality of the plane.

Turkish official

Separate footage from the country’s Anadolu Agency showed two pilots ejecting from the jet before it crashed. Russia has carried out a number of airstrikes in Syria to support the forces of President Bashar al Assad. Russia has insisted the aircraft at no time entered Turkey’s airspace. A statement from Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said the leader spoke with Turkey’s military chief and foreign ministry about the incident.

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