In a rare incident, A Russian Su-25 fighter jet was shot down by Syrian rebels and the pilot was killed.
The pilot reportedly ejected the jet after it was hit, the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to Russian media agency TASS.
“On 3 February 2018, a Russian fighter jet Su-25 crashed when flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone. The pilot was able to report ejection from an area controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra militants [the terrorist group banned in Russia],” the defense ministry said, TASS reported. “The pilot was killed while fighting against terrorists.”
“According to preliminary information, the jet was brought down with a portable anti-aircraft missile system,” the defense ministry said.
It was later reported by RT News that Russia then fired missiles in the area where the Su-25 was downed and allegedly killed at least 30 terrorists, according to the defense ministry.
Russian pilot killed after Syria rebels down plane: monitor #AFP
Picture by @omar_hajkadour shows smoke billowing from the site of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in the the Syrian city of Saraqib. pic.twitter.com/4wLwf0l0jD— AFP Photo (@AFPphoto) February 3, 2018
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the incident, saying the jet was likely “downed by MANPADS,” or man-portable air defense systems that are shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles.
.@mod_russia admits losing Su-25 jet in Syria, says it was likely downed with MANPADS, measures are taken in cooperation with Turkey to return the pilot’s body https://t.co/2DVPJ0yBSx
— CIT (en) (@CITeam_en) February 3, 2018
