Russian Air Force Su-24 combat aircraft downed by Turkish forces

Doomed RuAF Sukhoi Su-24 "Fencer" attack aircraft, claimed shot down by THK F-16 "Viper" multirole fighter aircraft.

According to Reuters:

Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian-made warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday after repeatedly warning it over air space violations, Turkish officials said, but Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left Syrian air space.

Turkish presidential sources said the warplane was a Russian-made SU-24. The Turkish military, which did not confirm the plane's origin, said it had been warned 10 times in the space of five minutes about violating Turkish airspace.

Russia's defence ministry said one of its fighter jets had been downed in Syria, apparently after coming under fire from the ground, but said it could prove the plane was over Syria for the duration of its flight, Interfax news agency reported.

According to Russia Today News:

A Russian Su-24 fighter has been shot down in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding the plane hadn’t violated Turkish airspace and was flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters.

“During the flight, the aircraft was flying within the borders of Syria, which was registered by objective monitoring data,” the ministry said, adding that the aircraft was "supposedly shot down from the ground.”

COMMENTARY: This is the first time a NATO member armed forces has downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s.

This action by the Turkish military could be interpreted by the Russo-Iranian led coalition as rendering support for armed opposition forces, against Russian military forces engaged in supporting current Syrian pro-government offensive at northern Latakia Governorate. [see military situation map at bottom of post]

Russian and Turkish assets fell on fears of an escalation between these two countries that have seen periods of hostility and open warfare during the previous five centuries.

RuAF Sukhoi Su-24 "Fencer" attack aircraft falling to earth upon Turkmen Mountain, in the north of Latakia region of Syria

  

Flight radar track imagery of downed RuAF Su-24 attack aircraft, as provided by Turkish military following shootdown. Russian Defense Ministry disputes this, claiming it has evidence to show the downed attack aircraft remained within Syrian airspace.

Military situation map of area where RuAF attack aircraft are supporting Syrian government military forces in their current offensive at Latakia Governorate.  [source: Peto Lucem]

Russia Confirms Bomb Brought Down Metrojet in Saini - UPDATE

‘This Was a Terrorist Act’

Alexander Bortnikov, the head of FSB, Russia’s state security organization, said today that a homemade explosive device brought down the Metrojet 9268 over Saini Peninsula.

“According to our experts, a homemade explosive device equivalent to 1 kilogram of TNT went off onboard, which caused the plane to break up in the air, explaining why the fuselage was scattered over such a large territory. I can certainly say that this was a terrorist act,” Bortnikov said. (AP, 17 November)

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for downing the Russian plane in written statements, as well as video and audio messages posted on the Internet following the 31 October crash that killed all 224 people onboard. ISIL said the attack was retaliation against Russia’s air campaign the organization in Syria.

Meanwhile, Russian President Putin vowed to hunt down those responsible for the terrorist attack and punish them. Putin added that the air campaign in Syria “should not only be continued but should be intensified.” He instructed the Defense Ministry and General Staff to present their plans on how Russia’s operation in Syria could be modified.

“We will act in accordance to the UN Charter Article 51, which gives each country the right to self-defense,” Putin said. (AP, 17 November)

UPDATE: Russia conducted several strikes in Raqqa on Tuesday. Fox News quoting a defense official in the region said the strikes included cruise missiles and possibly long-range bombers. The assault on ISIL’s capital in Syria came hours after Russia confirmed that a bomb brought down a Russian passenger jet in Sinai. ISIL has taken responsibility for bringing down Metrojet 9268 on 31 October. 

Photo credit: A Russian investigator walks near wreckage a day after Metrojet Airbus 321-200 bound for St. Petersburg, Russia, crashed in Saini Peninsula, Egypt. (Amr Nabil/AP)

Russia Suspends Flights to Egypt - UPDATE

President Vladimir Putin today suspended all flights from Russia to Egypt until the cause of the crash of the Metrojet Flight 9268 can be established. Egypt is the most popular tourist destination for Russians, and there are more than 25 daily flights from Russia to Egypt. Until now, the Russian authorities have been playing down the possibility of terrorism in the crash of 9268.

UPDATE: France24 reported today that European investigators who analyzed the two flight recorders from the Metrojet plane are categorically ruling out accident. They said the cockpit voice recorder shows an explosion, and the flight date recorder confirms the explosion was not accidental.

United States and Britain shared their intelligence with Russia concerning the Metrojet crash before Putin made the decision to suspend flights, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Paskov told CNN late Friday. 

Russian Metrojet Crash: Update

A U.S. intelligence analysis now suggests that the Islamic State or its affiliates planted a bomb on the Russian Metrojet passenger aircraft, CNN reported.

British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond also said that his government believes there is a “significant possibility” that an explosive device caused the crash.

Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed Saturday in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula after breaking apart in midair, killing all 224 people on board.

In an audio message posted on social media tonight, an ISIL affiliate, the Islamic State Sinai Province, insisted that it brought down the plane. But the message did not provide any details on how they brought down the plane, if in fact they did.

Meanwhile, Britain and Ireland suspended flights to the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh airport, where the Metrojet took off before crashing over the desert. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said he was “somewhat surprised” by the British decision.

“I think it is premature to make declarations related to what might or might not have happened,” said Shoukry. (CNN, 4 November)

UPDATE: Michael Morell, CBS News’ senior security analyst and a former number two official at the CIA, told “CBS Evening News” tonight that the U.S. intelligence picked up conversations between Islamic State members saying they brought down the plane. Morell added, however, that the conversations 

were not specific enough. (CNN News, 4 November)

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Three Russians Killed in Latakia

First Russian Casualties in Syrian Civil War

Three Russian servicemen fighting alongside pro-regime forces in Syria were killed today and several more wounded when a shell hit their position in the coastal province of Latakia, a senior pro-government source told Reuters on Tuesday. If confirmed, the deaths, which occurred on Monday night, would be the first known Russian military casualties in the Syrian civil war. Russia began its direct military intervention on 30 September. Russia has not said how many combat troops it has deployed in Syria. (Reuters, 20 October)

Meanwhile, the Russian-led coalition of Syrian army and its irregular NDF forces, Iran’s Quds Force and IRGC forces, the Lebanese Hezbollah and other foreign Shia militias, mostly Afghans and Pakistanis, continued the fifth day of their offensive near Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov today told Russia’s news agency Interfax that in the past 24 hours, Russian Aerospace Force carried out 55 combat sorties in Aleppo, Latakia, Idlib, Hama and Damascus provinces. He added the airstrikes were carried out by Su-24M, Su-25SM and Su-34 aircraft.

The five-days-old operation in Aleppo has had initial successes, with pro-government forces retaking some towns and villages around the strategic city. It was not clear, however, when the pro-government forces would begin their offensive on the city itself, which was expected to have taken place by now.

UPDATE: Russian embassy in Damascus had denied the Reuters report, saying the embassy had no report on the death of Russian servicemen in Latakia, Fars News Agency reported. Reuters, however, quoted the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdulrahman, as saying that observatory sources have confirmed the deaths of Russians.

File photo: Russian Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback heavy strike fighter (ausairpower.net)

Putin Meets Leaders of Saudi Arabia and UAE

Syria and Fight against ISIL on Top of Agenda

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with Saudi Arabia Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman (top photo) and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (above) in Sochi, Russia; 11 October 2015 (President of Russia @KremlinRussia)

Russian Flights over Iran and Iraq - Ferrying Military Equipment and Personnel to Syria

Russia is using an air corridor over Iran and Iraq to fly military equipment and personnel to an air hub south of Latakia in Syria. Giant Russian Condor transport planes are taking off from a base in Southern Russia to ferry equipment to Syria through Iranian and Iraqi airspace. (The New York Times, 14 September)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying the airlift is delivering “military supplies” to the Syrian government, “inevitably accompanied by Russian specialists, who help to adjust the equipment, to train Syrian personnel how to use this weaponry.”  

Russia, along with Iran, has been the main supporter of Assad and his regime during the four-and-a-half year civil war.

Photo (top): A Russian plane in Latakia, Syria on Saturday. (AFP/Getty Images/CreditSANA/New York Times)

UPDATE: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) adds positions of Russian specialists to the Syrian map: