Russian cruise-missile attacks killed more than two dozen Syrian rebels Saturday in northwest Syria after the pilot of a downed Russian fighter jet, who had parachuted to safety, was killed on the ground, according to Russian and Western media reports.
Russia's Interfax news agency quotes the Russian defense ministry as saying radio intelligence determined that more than 30 Al-Nusra righters were killed in strikes by "precision-guided weapons."
The Russian military has been attacking rebels with Kalibr precision-guided cruise missiles fired by frigates and submarines attached to its Navy's task force in the Mediterranean, according to Interfax.
The latest incident comes as Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air support and Iranian arms, have intensified their offensive into Idlib. The northwest province is one of the last rebel-held bastions in Syria. It is also host to several Islamist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda.
The ministry said its Su-25 jet crashed after apparently being shot down by a hand-carried, ground-to-air missile. The pilot ejected safely, but was killed by militants on the ground, the ministry said, according to the state-owned TASS news agency.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has extensive contacts inside Syria, also said the pilot was killed after landing alive.
A Syrian militant in the area told The Associated Press that the Russian pilot was shot and killed when he resisted capture by opening fire with a pistol on the militants who tried to capture him. The militant refused to be identified by his real name because was not authorized to speak to the media.
A video circulating on social media shows a dead man with a bloodied face as bearded gunmen stood around him. One of them shouts: “He is Russian.”
The authenticity of the video could not be independently confirmed but it corresponds to events reported by the AP.
No group immediately claimed responsibility.
There have been dozens of Russian airstrikes in the area of Idlib province over the past 24 hours," according to Rami Abdel Rahman, who runs the monitoring group. "This plane was also carrying out raids there."
The Syrian regime launched its offensive against Idlib from the south and east in December last year.
Last month the Syrian army retook the strategic Abu Dhuhur airbase from insurgents in Idlib.
According to Jan Egeland, who heads the United Nations' task force on humanitarian aid for Syria, almost a quarter of a million people have been displaced into or from Idlib since the latest onslaught began less than two months ago.
Contributing: Associated Press;Deutsche Welle
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