Crash site: The aircraft, carrying three crew and two officers, was shot down down in the Idlib province in north western Syria today
Gruesome pictures show what is believed to be the body of a Russian pilot being dragged through the dirt after the aircraft was gunned down
It comes as mystery surrounded the discovery in the wreckage of an identification card showing a picture of a blonde woman. The image was found along with a haul of personal belongings of those inside, including Russian drivers' licences, passports and insurance cards, as well as Orthodox Christian icons.
Mystery surrounded the discovery in the wreckage of an ID card showing a picture of a blonde woman
'A Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down from the ground after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo,' the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies. 'Three crew members and two officers... were on board.'
In a later statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added: 'As far as we know from the information we've had from the defence ministry, those in the helicopter died, they died heroically, because they were trying to move the aircraft away to minimise victims on the ground.'
The helicopter appears to have broken up as it crashed. In another video, its tail can be seen lying separately from the aircraft's body in flames
Russian air forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's five-year-old civil war. Around 25 miles north-east of the crash site, rebel groups are staging an offensive to break a government siege on rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo city. Pro-government forces on the ground are being supported by heavy air strikes in the area.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the helicopter incident. Idlib province has a strong presence of both fighters for the al-Qaeda branch in Syria known as the Nusra Front and rebels. The group announced last week that it was changing its name and relinquishing ties with al-Qaeda in an attempt to undermine a potential US and Russian air campaign against its fighters. The group is part of a coalition of insurgent groups called Jaish al-Fateh, or Army of Conquest, which has captured most of Idlib.
In July, two Russian airmen were killed in the central Homs province when their Mi-25 helicopter was shot down by what the Defense Ministry said were ISIS fighters. An Mi-28N helicopter gunship crashed near Homs in April, killing both crew members, but the Russian military said there was no evidence it came under fire.
A Russian warplane was shot down by a Turkey along the Syrian border in November, and one of the two pilots was shot and killed from the ground after ejecting. Earlier on Monday, a Syrian military official said that government forces repelled an attack by insurgents that was an attempt to break the siege imposed on rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo.
The development came a day after Syrian rebels launched the offensive to break up the government's siege of eastern, rebel-held part of the city. The U.N. estimates some 300,000 people are still trapped in the rebel section of Aleppo, with dwindling food and medical supplies. The U.N.'s special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura warned on Friday that basic supplies in eastern Aleppo could run out in three weeks.
Opposition activists said intense fighting was still ongoing in Aleppo on Monday. The Syrian military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, did not elaborate.
It's begun, just like they said it would. This time it's the turkeys, likely still pissed for all the thanksgiving massacres. God help us come Christmas!
Ok, ok.. That's in poor taste, but I couldn't resist.