Turkey Shoots Down Likely Russian Jet Near Syria Border Turkish officials say jet violated its airspace By Dion Nissenbaum and Emre Peker

Posted By on November 24th, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/turkey-shoots-down-jet-near-syria-border-1448356509

ISTANBUL—The Turkish military shot down what is likely to be a Russian jet fighter along the Syrian border on Tuesday after the plane violated Turkey’s airspace and ignored warnings to return, Turkish officials said.

Turkish authorities didn’t give the nationality of the jet but Russia separately said one of its jets had been downed in the region, it said the jet had flown exclusively in Syrian airspace and that the plane had likely been brought down by shelling from the ground.

The Turkish military said two of its F-16s shot down the jet fighter after it crossed into Turkish airspace and ignored 10 warnings in five minutes to return to Syrian airspace.

Television footage showed a jet catching fire and crashing into the mountains along the Turkey-Syria border.

The plane crashed on a part of the border where Russian and Syrian planes have been targeting Turkmen fighters, a group that has been seeking more support from Ankara in their fight against the Syrian regime.

The jet’s pilots appeared to have survived the crash, with television stations broadcasting two people parachuting onto the Syrian side of the border, where Turkmen rebels backed by Turkey are fighting regime forces.

Military Chief of Staff Hulusi Akar and Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu briefed Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu about the incident, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.

Mr. Davutoglu tasked the Foreign Ministry to consult with the United Nations, NATO and other parties involved in Syria regarding the matter. An official at the Russian Embassy declined to comment.

Tuesday’s incident marked the second time Turkey has downed a jet on the Syrian border. The country has also brought down at least one helicopter, one drone and another aircraft that it said was a helicopter, although Syria maintains it was an unmanned aerial vehicle.

So far, with the exception of the unmarked Russian-made drone, all the aircraft belonged to Syrian armed forces.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been briefed by the military chief of staff, and the presidency said the downed plane is a Russian-made Su-24 jet, according to Anadolu news.

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