ANKARA (Sputnik) – Turkey has suspended its Air Force flights over Syria in the international coalition campaign in the fight against the Islamic State after the downing of the Russian Su-24 Fencer bomber, Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper reported Friday, citing diplomatic sources.
On Tuesday, a Turkish Air Force F-16 downed the Russian bomber 4 kilometers from the Turkish border. Both the Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command confirmed that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace and was shot down over Syrian territory, citing precise objective control data.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a "stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists."
One of the two Su-24 pilots was killed by fire from the ground after ejecting from the plane. The second pilot was rescued in a 12-hour-long operation.
