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Russian plane shot
down in Syria
down in Syria
![A picture taken on February 3, 2018, shows smoke billowing from the site of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in Syria's northwest province of Idlib.
Rebel fighters shot down a Russian plane over Syria's northwest Idlib province and captured its pilot, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
/ AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KADOUR / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [in Syria's northwest province of Idlib.] instead of [near the Syrian city of Saraqib, southwest of Aleppo.]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)](https://www.i.cdn.cnn.com/.a/2.62.2/assets/video_pinned_white_bg.jpg)
![A picture taken on February 3, 2018, shows smoke billowing from the site of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in Syria's northwest province of Idlib.
Rebel fighters shot down a Russian plane over Syria's northwest Idlib province and captured its pilot, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
/ AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KADOUR / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [in Syria's northwest province of Idlib.] instead of [near the Syrian city of Saraqib, southwest of Aleppo.]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)](http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180203123640-02-russia-warplane-syria-small-169.jpg)
(CNN)A Russian warplane was shot down Saturday in Syria, according to Russian state-run news agencies.
The
Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed one of its Su-25 warplanes was
downed in Idlib province in northwest Syria, state media outlet RIA
Novosti reported.
Militants
shot down the plane in an area controlled by al-Nusra Front fighters,
according to the RIA Novosti report. Russia and Turkey, which is
responsible for a de-escalation zone in Idlib, were taking measures to
return the pilot's body, the defense ministry said.
The
ministry said more than 30 militants in the area were killed in a
retaliatory strike, according to RIA Novosti, citing "radio intercepts."
The
defense ministry said the pilot was able to eject from the aircraft
before it crashed, according to state-run news agency TASS, but died
while fighting al-Nusra fighters.
Idlib province
TASS
reported that "according to preliminary information, the plane was shot
down from a portable anti-aircraft missile system."
But
a witness who spoke to CNN via Skype on condition of anonymity said the
jet was shot down by Free Syrian Army fighters with a group called
Jaish al-Naser as two jets were "striking the village of Massaran on the
southern side of Saraqib."
The
witness said that a pilot parachuted. A Free Syrian Army fighter in the
area told the source that the pilot "engaged with FSA fighters with a
pistol but they killed him eventually."
The source left the area after the second jet fired more missiles.
Other
witnesses said the pilot was taken from the crash site, according to
Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
UK-based monitoring group. It was unclear whether the pilot was alive
or dead, he said
The Idlib Media Center, an anti-government activist group, posted images that purportedly show the plane's wreckage.
Smoke billows from the site of the downed Russian plane Saturday in the northwest province of Idlib.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime recently resumed airstrikes on rebel-held areas such as Idlib province, prompting tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes, according to UN officials.
Idlib has long been the region where civilians and fighters have gone as they fled rebel-friendly areas under siege by the Syrian regime.
With
the help of Russian forces, the Syrian government has managed to take
back much of the country held by rebels. The regime has launched an
offensive to retake Idlib, the only province that has come under full
rebel control in the nearly 7-year-old conflict.
CNN's Eyad K
ourdi, Alla Eshchenko and Mary Ilyushina contributed to this report.
CNN.com
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