Syrian rebels down Russian plane, kill pilot

[rooster59]

Syrian rebels down Russian plane, kill pilot

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Polina Devitt

 

The scene shows, what according to Syrian rebels were fires caused by Russian military plane shot down by rebel forces near Idlib, Syria, reportedly on February 3, 2018 in this still image obtained from social media via REUTERS

 

AMMAN/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syrian rebels shot down a Russian warplane on Saturday and killed its pilot on the ground after he ejected from the plane, Russia's defence ministry and Syrian rebels said.

 

The SU-25 came down in an area of northern Idlib province that has seen heavy air strikes and fighting on the ground between Syria's government forces backed by Russia and Iran, and rebel groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

 

Syrians opposed to Assad see Russia as an invading force they blame for the deaths of thousands of civilians since Moscow joined the war on the side of the government in 2015.

 

The U.S. State Department said it had seen reports about the incident and allegations that the United States provided missiles to groups in Syria.

 

"The United States has never provided MANPAD missiles to any group in Syria, and we are deeply concerned that such weapons are being used," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. "The solution to the violence is a return to the Geneva process as soon as possible and we call on Russia to live up to its commitments in that regards."

 

The Russian plane was shot down over the town of Khan al-Subl near the city of Saraqeb, close to a major highway where the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias are trying to advance, a rebel source said.

 

Although the Russian pilot escaped the crash, he was killed by rebels who had tried to capture him, the source said.

 

Tharir al-Sham, a jihadist group spearheaded by the former Syrian branch of al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for shooting down the plane on social media, saying one of its fighters had scored a direct hit with a shoulder launched anti-aircraft missile.

 

"This work is the least we can do to revenge our people. Let the criminal invaders know that our skies are not a picnic and they will not pass through without paying a price, God willing," senior commander Mahmoud Turkomani said in a statement released by the group.

 

Russia's Defence Ministry also said that the aircraft was downed by a portable surface-to-air missile. The pilot reported that he had ejected by parachute, it said, and he was later killed on the ground.

 

"The pilot died in a fight with terrorists," the ministry said.

 

PLANE WRECKAGE

 

TASS news agency quoted the Russian Defence Ministry as saying Moscow retaliated with a strike from an undisclosed high-precision weapon that killed more than 30 militants in an area of Idlib province where the plane was downed.

 

The Syrian opposition released footage on social media that purported to show the wreckage of the plane and the body of the pilot surrounded by fighters.

 

Rebels said the downed warplane had taken part in strikes that targeted civilian convoys fleeing along a major Syrian highway from villages that the army and foreign militias had overrun.

 

Syria's civil war, which is now entering its eighth year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven more than 11 million from their homes.

 

A Russian plane was blamed for the death of seven civilians and scores of injuries after cars were targeted on the highway, according to a witness and two rebels sources.

 

Syrian soldiers and Iranian-backed militiamen were now around twelve kilometres from Saraqeb, advancing towards the Damascus-Aleppo highway under cover of heavy Russian air strikes, two opposition sources said.

 

At least five civilians were killed in Saraqeb city on Saturday, which residents blamed on Russian planes.

 

Syrians in rebel-held areas say they can distinguish between Russian warplanes and those of the Syrian air force, because the Russian planes fly at higher altitude.

 

Residents say thousands of people have been forced by air strikes to flee the area, moving further north to the safety of makeshift camps on the Syrian side of the Turkish border.

 

Russia's Defence Ministry regularly says it targets only hardline Islamist militants in Syria.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-04

 

 

[FritsSikkink]

USA is backing nice groups:

"Syrian rebels shot down a Russian warplane"

 

"Tharir al-Sham, a jihadist group spearheaded by the former Syrian branch of al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for shooting down the plane on social media, saying one of its fighters had scored a direct hit with a shoulder launched anti-aircraft missile. "

[ilostmypassword]

8 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

USA is backing nice groups:

"Syrian rebels shot down a Russian warplane"

 

"Tharir al-Sham, a jihadist group spearheaded by the former Syrian branch of al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for shooting down the plane on social media, saying one of its fighters had scored a direct hit with a shoulder launched anti-aircraft missile. "

Actually, there's no evidence that the US currently supports this group. In fact, it's bombed them.  Of course, Qatar, an ally of the USA, has been implicated in supporting Al Qaeda in Syria

[nausea]

Killing the pilot, well that's a good move; now if I'm captured by Assad's forces I can expect the Geneva Conventions to apply?

[ezzra]

18 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

USA is backing nice groups:

"Syrian rebels shot down a Russian warplane"

 

"Tharir al-Sham, a jihadist group spearheaded by the former Syrian branch of al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for shooting down the plane on social media, saying one of its fighters had scored a direct hit with a shoulder launched anti-aircraft missile. "

 

Yesterday's enemy is today's friend, depend on the circumstances, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, in a region where Iran, Hezbollah, Israel, Russia and the USA are involved anything

can and will happen....

[simple1]

46 minutes ago, nausea said:

Killing the pilot, well that's a good move; now if I'm captured by Assad's forces I can expect the Geneva Conventions to apply?

I assume you're trying to be sarcastic. You would not want to be captured by Assad's forces with their terrible history of torture and eventual murder. 

[Enoon]

1 hour ago, nausea said:

Killing the pilot, well that's a good move; now if I'm captured by Assad's forces I can expect the Geneva Conventions to apply?

 

The Syrian Gov is notorious for ignoring the Conventions, even though they signed in 1953.

 

The people who killed the pilot were rebels and thus have not signed any Conventions, so don't expect them to treat you well either.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2018 by Enoon

[Sydebolle]

"The United States has never provided MANPAD missiles to any group in Syria, and we are deeply concerned that such weapons are being used". 

In order (American) words, Father Christmas was in town again. I recall the secret war in Laos, their non-involvement in Chile and Argentina, so go figure the "honesty" of the united states of missile and war liars. 

[Franko666]

4 hours ago, simple1 said:

I assume you're trying to be sarcastic. You would not want to be captured by Assad's forces with their terrible history of torture and eventual murder. 

Murder, torture and the like goes with the territory, don't expect the Geneva convention rules from islamists and don't expect it from the Country the islamists are trying to destroy. The Middle East is a shithole and with shithole rules engagement.

[simple1]

Just now, Franko666 said:

Murder, torture and the like goes with the territory, don't expect the Geneva convention rules from islamists and don't expect it from the Country the islamists are trying to destroy. The Middle East is a shithole and with shithole rules engagement.

Do you know Assad released Islamists from his jails to create mayhem in order to gain sympathy for his actions. Assad facilitated the travel of Islamists to Iraq to try and kill Western forces.

 

Assad was torturing and murdering thousands of people people, including children,  way before the commencement of the civil war. Among many other crimes against humanity, Assad militias use rape as a tool of war.

[stevenl]

4 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

The Syrian Gov is notorious for ignoring the Conventions, even though they signed in 1953.

 

The people who killed the pilot were rebels and thus have not signed any Conventions, so don't expect them to treat you well either.

 

 

 

 

According to the OP he was killed in a gunfight.

[ilostmypassword]

All these comments about the expectation that soldiers captured by the Syrians will inevitably face a grisly fate flies in the face of the fact that there have been numerous prisoner of war exchanges between the Syrian government and its opponents.Presumably the Syrian govt and its enemies are exchanging live soldiers and not corpses.

[simple1]

7 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

Straight out of the "I going to war the shit out of you people" handbook old chap. So you are saying Assad did all that but no one else did in the Middle East eh!  Anyway, Assad is the democratically elected leader of a secular Country so what he did or didn't do matters little to me and is unproven anyway. <snip> off topic rant

All up it's obvious you don't know what you're talking about. However, a brief response...

 

No.

 

There is a huge amount of documentary evidence of Assad's crimes

 

Assad is not the democratically elected leader of Syria. The Constitutional parliamentary seat allocation guarantees he retains power.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2018 by simple1

[heybruce]

14 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

Straight out of the "I going to war the shit out of you people" handbook old chap. So you are saying Assad did all that but no one else did in the Middle East eh!  Anyway, Assad is the democratically elected leader of a secular Country so what he did or didn't do matters little to me and is unproven anyway. Remember don't believe everything you read, the Democrats called Trump out for Russian collusion, and guess what it was a big arse lefty lie, Obama, the Clintons DNC and the FBI and going to burn over their conspiracy.

"Remember don't believe everything you read..."

 

Good advice.

 

"...the Democrats called Trump out for Russian collusion, and guess what it was a big arse lefty lie, Obama, the Clintons DNC and the FBI and going to burn over their conspiracy."

 

I don't believe any of that nonsense.

[heybruce]

3 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

 

Try this on for size, and I quote  "In June 2014, Assad won Syria’s Presidential election with 88.7 percent of the vote A group of international observers emphasized that the election was a valid and democratic expression of the views of the Syrian people.Despite the efforts of the Western establishment to delegitimize the election, it is obvious that Assad has popular support in Syria. The Western narrative – which claims that Assad is an insane dictator who butchers his own people – is illogical, as if this was true, Assad would have been ousted years ago." 

Do you have a source for that claim?  Wasn't that the election with a minuscule turn-out, where only people in government held places were allowed to vote?

[boomerangutang]

58 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

Murder, torture and the like goes with the territory, don't expect the Geneva convention rules from islamists and don't expect it from the Country the islamists are trying to destroy. The Middle East is a shithole and with shithole rules engagement.

In the middle East, the Rules of Engagement are:  shoot to kill anyone who is not in your clan, and be sure to shout 'Allah Akbar!' before during and after you do so.

 

Oh, almost forgot, be sure to indoctrinate your kids to hate everyone who is not from your clan.

[FritsSikkink]

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

 

Yesterday's enemy is today's friend, depend on the circumstances, and the enemy of my enemy

is my friend, in a region where Iran, Hezbollah, Israel, Russia and the USA are involved anything

can and will happen....

People who want to kill anyone who isn't Muslim will never be a friend.

[FritsSikkink]

7 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Actually, there's no evidence that the US currently supports this group. In fact, it's bombed them.  Of course, Qatar, an ally of the USA, has been implicated in supporting Al Qaeda in Syria

So the USA and the Russians are working together on this one? 

[Franko666]

15 minutes ago, heybruce said:

"Remember don't believe everything you read..."

 

Good advice.

 

"...the Democrats called Trump out for Russian collusion, and guess what it was a big arse lefty lie, Obama, the Clintons DNC and the FBI and going to burn over their conspiracy."

 

I don't believe any of that nonsense.

I know you don't, it goes with the territory but i just wanted you to write it here so I can have a little giggle to myself when the occasion is warranted. The next few months will be interesting don't cha think?

[heybruce]

4 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

So the USA and the Russians are working together on this one? 

If you are unaware that enemies are sometimes accidental allies in Syria, you haven't been following the conflict.

[ChouDoufu]

Russia enraged at U.S. arming Syrian rebels with ManPADS

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared U.S. intentions to provide Syrian “rebels” fighting the Assad regime in the Syrian Civil War as a “hostile move.” Barack Obama signed the 2017 Defense Authorization bill on Dec. 23rd of this year. The bill provides authorization for the Department of Defense to arm the rebels with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles or ManPADS.....

 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/27/russia-enraged-us-arming-syrian-rebels-manpads/

[heybruce]

2 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

I know you don't, it goes with the territory but i just wanted you to write it here so I can have a little giggle to myself when the occasion is warranted. The next few months will be interesting don't cha think?

Since there is ample evidence that there was, at the very least, attempts at collusion between Trump campaign officials, including Trump Jr., and the Russians...I agree, the next few months will be interesting.

[heybruce]

1 minute ago, ChouDoufu said:

Russia enraged at U.S. arming Syrian rebels with ManPADS

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared U.S. intentions to provide Syrian “rebels” fighting the Assad regime in the Syrian Civil War as a “hostile move.” Barack Obama signed the 2017 Defense Authorization bill on Dec. 23rd of this year. The bill provides authorization for the Department of Defense to arm the rebels with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles or ManPADS.....

 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/27/russia-enraged-us-arming-syrian-rebels-manpads/

The US has been arming and training some of the rebels, not those affiliated with Al Qaeda or ISIS.

[Ron19]

Off topic post removed.

[Franko666]

2 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

Russia enraged at U.S. arming Syrian rebels with ManPADS

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared U.S. intentions to provide Syrian “rebels” fighting the Assad regime in the Syrian Civil War as a “hostile move.” Barack Obama signed the 2017 Defense Authorization bill on Dec. 23rd of this year. The bill provides authorization for the Department of Defense to arm the rebels with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles or ManPADS.....

 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/27/russia-enraged-us-arming-syrian-rebels-manpads/

Obama at it again, gone but not forgotten, is there no end to this persons ability to screw up the Globe.

[heybruce]

1 minute ago, Franko666 said:

Obama at it again, gone but not forgotten, is there no end to this persons ability to screw up the Globe.

Yet Trump has been loudly taking credit for the military gains achieved by the alliances and offensives set in motion under Obama.

[Franko666]

10 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Yet Trump has been loudly taking credit for the military gains achieved by the alliances and offensives set in motion under Obama.

Obamas rules of engagement for his troops, "shoot any Muslims with getting authorisation in triplicate" even in a fire fight and you go to jail. Obama didn't wage war, he pretended. The boss did the job and did it good!!! Ask any Vet, who is the best guy to be Commander in Chief and it will be Trump every time.

[heybruce]

25 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

Obamas rules of engagement for his troops, "shoot any Muslims with getting authorisation in triplicate" even in a fire fight and you go to jail. Obama didn't wage war, he pretended. The boss did the job and did it good!!! Ask any Vet, who is the best guy to be Commander in Chief and it will be Trump every time.

I'm a vet, I disagree. 

 

Trump has allowed commanders closer to the action greater freedom, however your juvenile description is far from reality and the US military had ISIS in retreat long before Trump took office.  Also, as Trump demonstrated following embarrassments in Yemen and Nigeria, he only wants to take credit when things go well.

 

[Tchooptip]

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

According to the OP he was killed in a gunfight.

Yes and a fair one, a handgun versus fifty Kalashnikov 

[ilostmypassword]

2 hours ago, Franko666 said:

 

Try this on for size, and I quote  "In June 2014, Assad won Syria’s Presidential election with 88.7 percent of the vote A group of international observers emphasized that the election was a valid and democratic expression of the views of the Syrian people.Despite the efforts of the Western establishment to delegitimize the election, it is obvious that Assad has popular support in Syria. The Western narrative – which claims that Assad is an insane dictator who butchers his own people – is illogical, as if this was true, Assad would have been ousted years ago." 

It's significant that you didn't cite a link for your quote. Ashamed of the source? There was another poster not long ago who cited the same nonsense. These international observers were self selected people sympathetic to the Assad regime. Not people with any particular expertise in monitoring elections. And anybody who believes a result with that percentage is valid, is already completely in the bag for Assad.