Russian military plane shot down in Syria

Moscow Feb 4 (IANS) A Russian pilot has been killed after his plane was shot down by militants in Syrian province of Idlib the Russian Defence Ministry has said.

"A Russian Su-25 aircraft crashed during a flight over the Idlib de-escalation area " the ministry said in the statement on Saturday Xinhua news agency reported.

"The pilot died in a fight with the terrorists " the statement said adding that preliminary information showed that the plane was downed by use of a man-portable anti-aircraft missile system.

"The Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria and the Turkish side overseeing the Idlib de-escalation area are working to bring the Russian pilot s body home " it said.

The pilot had reported earlier that he ejected by parachute in the area controlled by Nusra Front militants.

--IANS
pgh/