Russian, Syrian special forces rescue pilot

Russian and Syrian special forces on Wednesday rescued one of the pilots of a Russian warplane shot down by Turkey near the Turkish-Syrian border, a report said.

According to the report, the pilot, whose Su-24 jet came down in Syrian territory on Tuesday, was rescued from an area where rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad were present.

Syrian special forces “last night carried out a joint operation with Russian special forces, penetrating four to five kilometers into areas where terrorists are located, and were able to save one of the pilots of the Russian plane”, the report said.

It also stated that the pilot had been returned to a military base while noting that the other pilot was shot dead from the ground.

Reacting to the development, Turkey said the jet had violated its air space while Russia maintained that the plane had not left Syrian air space.

It would be recalled that Russia an ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad on Sept. 30 began air campaign in support of Assad, whose forces are fighting insurgents backed by regional powers including Turkey