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.
