Syrian Rebels Destroy Russian-Built Helicopter With US-Made Missile

Early Tuesday morning, a Russian Su-24 jet was shot down by the Turkish Air Force along the Syrian border. Turkey claims that the aircraft had passed into their airspace, and they had warned the pilot multiple times on its approach before one of their fighter jets intercepted it and shot it down. Russia has since denied these claims, though a leaked letter from Turkey to the UN suggests that the jet violated Turkish airspace for 17 seconds.

Following the incident, two Russian pilots managed to eject from the plane, one of who is confirmed dead after Turkish militiamen fired on the pilots as they drifted to the earth. Now the FSA rebels are claiming that they shot down a Russian built helicopter that was attempting to rescue the pilots. They used a TOW missile to force the aircraft to land, before they fired another missile which destroyed it. The FSA has since provided footage that claims to show their successful attack on the helicopter.

By all accounts, the crew had already left the helicopter before it was destroyed. Though the footage isn’t clear enough to determine the nationality of the aircraft, the rebels can be heard saying that they had shot down a Syrian helicopter. Russian officials have since admitted that one of their search and rescue helicopters was damaged in a separate incident after it was shelled by rebel forces, and at least 1 Russian marine is confirmed dead.

The TOW missile used by the rebels is an anti-tank missile manufactured in the United States, and supplied to her allies. The missiles have been given to the rebels by the US since at least 2014, and their usage has increased by 800% since Russia started its air campaign over Syria.