ISTANBUL — A Russian pilot was killed after his warplane was downed by Syrian rebels in northern Idlib province, Russia's Defense Ministry and a monitoring group said Saturday
The militants appeared to have shot down the Su-25 fighter jet using a man-portable antiaircraft system, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted the Defense Ministry saying.
The downing of the aircraft is a rare instance of a Russian jet being shot down by rebels.
Both Russia and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the pilot was killed after exchanging fire with the rebels. Videos online showed militants surrounding the body of a man they said was Russian. The images could not be verified.
The pilot was able to communicate that he had ejected from the aircraft in an area held by al-Qaeda-linked militants, but later “died in a fight with the terrorists,” the Defense Ministry said.