Turkey Downs Russian Military Aircraft Near Syria’s Border
Turkish military aircraft shot down a Russian jet Tuesday after Turkey says it violated its airspace near the border with Syria, a major escalation in the Syrian conflict that could further strain relations between Russia and the West since Turkey is a NATO member.
Russian officials confirmed that a Russian Su-24 warplane, one of more than three dozen fixed-wing aircraft flying sorties in Syria as part of Russia’s two-month old bombing campaign there, had been shot down but insisted it had not violated Turkish airspace.
Turkey’s military said, however, that the Russian jet was warned multiple times before it was shot down by two F-16 fighter jets.
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