"When carrying out a planned flight over the eastern regions of the Syrian Arab Republic, the Russian Ka-52 helicopter crashed. Both pilots were killed," the ministry revealed in a statement.
"The cause of the incident could be a technical malfunction," the ministry added. The bodies of the pilots were found by search and rescue crews and taken to their operating base.
The Ka-52 Alligator is an armed helicopter designed to conduct anti-ground missions and reconnaissance flights.