Russian Su-25 shot down by militants in Idlib, pilot killed - Russians launch retaliation strikes, kill 30 terrorists (VIDEO, UPDATES)

Sputnik
Sat, 03 Feb 2018 19:44 UTC

© Russian Defense Ministry

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the country's air forces conducted a group strike of the area controlled by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham militants in Idlib, from where a projectile was fired downing Russian Su-25 aircraft.

The Russian Ministry of Defense revealed the preliminary information on the incident, saying that the aircraft might be shot down with the help of a man-portable air defense system. The pilot survived the crash, but was killed during a fight with terrorists.

"The plane was flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone," the military stated.

The Defense Ministry revealed that according to preliminary information as to the possible cause of the downing, the plane may have been shot down by a man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD).

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the pilot managed to eject from the aircraft and survive, but was killed during a subsequent battle with terrorists.

"The pilot reported on a bailout in an area controlled by rebels Jabhat Fatah al-Sham [previously known as al-Nusra Front]. When conducting a fight with terrorists, the pilot died," the Defense Ministry said.

Comment: Update (Feb. 4): RT adds some detail to the pilot's heroic death:

The pilot of the Russian Su-25 jet shot down over Syria reportedly died fighting as his weapon was found with an empty magazine. He was being considered for a state award, documents found on his person apparently reveal.

The Russian airman killed by militants in the Al-Nusra-controlled area in Idlib province Saturday was identified as Major Roman Filippov, photos posted on the Telegram channel of independent investigative group Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) indicate.

Earlier, the Russian Defense ministry confirmed that the pilot died "during combat with terrorists."

One of the pictures, published on the CIT Facebook page, shows what appears to be a commendation authored by special operations air group commander Lt. Colonel Sergey Aksenov, recommending that a state award be bestowed upon Filippov for completing combat missions in Syria. CIT claims the document was found in the slain pilot's pocket.

Another photo shows the gun Filippov apparently used to fight for his life. A Stechkin machine pistol (APS), standard issue for Russian combat pilots, is seen next to three magazines, one of them empty and two half-empty.

The article includes a video of 'rebels' posing with the dead body of the pilot.

According to the ministry, Russia and Turkey, peace guarantor in Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone, are taking all possible efforts to return the body of the killed pilot.

During the two-years long military operation in Syria, Russia lost four aircraft and four helicopters. According to Russian Defense Minister Yury Borisov, the country's air forces modernized Su-25SM ground attack aircraft are being used in Syria.

The Su-25 attack aircraft is designed to destroy small-size mobile and fixed ground objects, as well as low-speed air targets.

The conflict took place on the territory controlled by the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham terror group amid the ongoing military operation against them conducted by the Syrian forces.

Among various terror groups operating in the area, there is also Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an umbrella terrorist group spearheaded this year by the former Al-Nusra Front. While some countries such as the United States have flagged HTS as a terrorist group, Russian officials continue to refer to the Salafist jihadist terrorist organization by its old Al-Nusra moniker. Al-Nusra was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2016, when it ostensibly split from the world's most well-known terrorist network.

Comment: When Putin announced the withdrawal of a big portion of the Russian military in Syria, he promised that any attacks would be dealt with swiftly and with no mercy. The Russian military has kept their word, conducting "a massive precision weapon strike... on areas controlled by the Al-Nusra [terrorist] group" in response to the killing of their pilot.

The Russian MOD has released footage of their cruise-missile strike on the location of the terrorists responsible for downing the jet and killing its pilot.

Here's video footage of the pilot parachuting down to the ground:

Update 00:00 CET

This 'Tahrir al-Sham' group is claiming responsibility. Al Qaeda, basically:

Tahrir al-Sham released a post on social media quoting a commander in charge of its air raids as saying one of its militants had hit Russian SU-25 during an "air raid" over the city of Saraqeb in the northwestern province of Idlib.

And it appears that they used one of Uncle Sam's MAN-PAD shoulder-to-air missiles. From the same Sputnik source as above:

"When patrolling the Idlib de-escalation zone, a Russian Su-25 aircraft crashed... According to the preliminary information, the jet was shot down from a man-portable air-defense system," Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Benghazi is just the gift that keeps on giving, eh.

Update (Feb. 4): A Syrian special forces operation is reportedly underway in the area where a Russian Su-25 jet was downed by a MANPAD rocket on Saturday. The goal is to find evidence allowing the weapon to be traced to its origin.

The Russian warplane was downed by a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rocket, according to the Russian defense ministry. Moscow is very interested in establishing how exactly the weapon system got into the hands of the militant group responsible for attack, Russian MP Vikotor Volodarsky told RIA Novosti.

"The group that had the MANPAD has been destroyed by the Russian Air Force. Now the Syrian commandos are working on the ground. If they find elements of that launcher, we could trace its serial number and establish its origin to the factory in a few days, find out how it got there," the Russian MP said. He added Russian planes are providing air support to the Syrian troops.

See also: No anti-aircraft weapons sent to 'our vetted' Syrian rebels - Pentagon spokesman after downing of Russian jet

Update: Video footage has emerged of the final moments of Filippov's fight with jihadists surrounding him. Filippov can be heard shouting "This is for our guys!" before the sound of a large blast. (The new footage begins at 0:37 in the video below.)

As he was surrounded, Filippov detonated a grenade in order to avoid being taken alive, and presumably also to take as many of his attackers with him:

Major Filippov managed to notify of his coordinates back to the airbase in Khemeymim, after which he fired at the approaching jihadists from an automatic pistol Stechkin (APS). He was wounded and surrounded when he decided to blow up a hand grenade so as not to be captured by the enemy.

Major Roman Filippov

The deceased Hero was considered one of the best pilots of Russian assault aviation.