Syrian Army recovers Pilot of downed Russian Su-24 from Syria-Turkey borders

DAMASCUS: One of the two pilots from the Russian Su-24 which was downed by two Turkish F-16s Tuesday morning has been rescued by the Syrian Army, according to Russia's envoy to France, as cited by Reuters. One of the pilots from the downed Su-24 was found by the Syrian Army and is currently being transported to Russia's base in the country, Rusia's ambassador to France said. On Tuesday, Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24M Fencer bomber. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey acted in line with its sovereign right to respond to threats, claiming that the Russian jet had violated Turkish airspace. But flight data released by Russian Ministry of Defense shows that the Su-24s never entered Turkey, and were attacked while performing legitimate maneuvers over Syria. The other pilot was killed by fire from the ground after ejecting from the plane and a Russian naval infantry soldier was killed during the rescue operation. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a "stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists." Reference: sputnik news