Turkey's
semi-official Anadolu news agency quoted Turkish presidential sources
in reporting that the Russian SU-24 was "hit within the framework of
engagement rules" in Syria's Bayirbucak area, near the border with
Turkey.
But Russia's state-run
Sputnik news agency said that "According to preliminary reports, the
plane was gunned down from the ground."
Russian
officials denied that the plane had violated Turkish airspace. Both
pilots ejected from the plane, but their fate is unknown, Sputnik said.
Russian officials said one of tis warplanes was shot down by ground fire in northern Syria.
"The
SU-24 bomber jet was in Syrian airspace at the altitude 6,000 meters,
the Russian Defense Ministry said," according to Sputnik. "The pilots
were reportedly able to parachute out of the jet before it crashed."
Syria
has been embroiled for four and a half years in a brutal civil war that
has killed hundreds thousands of people, sent millions fleeing, and
laid waste to entire cities.
Turkey vehemently opposes the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Russia is propping up the Assad regime.
Skirmishes
between Turks and Syrians have taken place in the past, with Turkish
officials accusing Syrian planes of violating Turkish air space.
A 'significant escalation'
A Russian plane is seen crashing nose-first in northern Syria.
"The
moment of the plane falling into Bayirbucak region across from Hatay's
Yayladagi was captured on camera," the Anadolu Agency reported. "The
pilot's evacuation via parachute was also captured. Heavy smoke has been
seen in the area where the plane fell."
This
kind of incident might ultimately have been inevitable, given the
number of countries involved either directly or indirectly in the Syrian
war. Currently, the United States, Russia, France, the Gulf states,
Turkey and Israel are involved in one way or another in military
activity in Syria.
Sajjan Gohel,
international security director for the Asia-Pacific Foundation, a think
tank, described the downing of the plane as "a very significant
escalation."
"It's very much the last
thing that's needed right now, especially in the aftermath of the Paris
attacks, when there was hope that Russia could form an alliance with
France and with the United States against ISIS," Gohel said. "This is
going to complicate things. This is going to add unnecessary tensions
that really weren't required at this critical juncture."
He said the downing of the Russian plane would hamper efforts to form a united front against the terrorist group ISIS.
"This
is a situation that unfortunately was almost inevitable at some point,
because Turkey has long been accusing Russia of interfering in their
airspace," Gohel said. "They've threatened them in the past. And even
though economic relations between the two countries are strong --
politically, there have been tensions recently."
Turkey shot down Syrian fighter previously
In
March of 2014, Turkey shot down a Syrian fighter jet after the warplane
strayed into its airspace, according to then-Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan is now the country's president
"Our
F-16s went up in the air and shot that plane down. Why? Because if you
violate my airspace, then from now on, our slap will be hard," Erdogan
told supporters at a campaign rally in 2014.
But
state-run media in Syria called it an act of "blatant aggression" and
said the downed plane was over northern Syria at the time.
