Turkey’s military have today shot down a Russian war plane near its border with Syria after the jet violated Turkish air space.

The Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter planes after ignoring nearly a dozen warnings, Turkish army officials said.

President Vladimir Putin called Turkey’s decision to shoot down the plane a ‘stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices’, as his Defence Ministry still claims the jet was in Syrian airspace

Footage reportedly filmed by rebels in Syria’s Turkomen Mountains, an area which has been the cause of recent tensions between Turkey and Russia, shows local fighters cheer as they discover the body of one of the Russian pilots.

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The video, posted on Twitter by a man believed to be a Syrian-Turkmen rebel soldier, shows at least a dozen men surrounding the corpse of the pilot, dressed in Russian military fatigues, and some are heard shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ – ‘God is great’.

Local rebels said the pilot, who can be seen covered in bruises and burns in the video, was already deceased when he landed, and that none of the Russian pilots had been killed by Syrian fighters.

The area is mainly populated by Turkmens – Syrians citizens, but ethnic Turks – and is the target of a current Syrian government offensive, where President Bashar al-Assad’s ground troops are supported by Russian airstrikes.

The Turkish army said the pilots of the Russian jet had been warned ‘ten times in the space of five minutes’ before the plane was shot down.

Both pilots ejected themselves from the jet and could be seen parachuting down to the ground, where one has been reported dead and the other captured by Syrian Turkmen rebels.

The Turkomen Mountains is controlled by several insurgent groups, who are not allied with ISIS, including al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the 2nd Coastal Division that consists of local Turkmen fighters.

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Just hours before the Russian jet was shot down, Ankara called for a U.N Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmen areas in Syria, which have forced some 1,700 civilians to flee their homes in the last three days, according to Turkish officials.

It followed a summoning of Moscow’s ambassador on Friday, when Ankara demanded an immediate end to the Russian military operation near the Syrian border saying the Russian actions did not ‘constitute a fight against terrorism’ but the bombing of civilians.

Ambassador Andrey Karlov was warned during the meeting that the Russian operations could lead to serious consequences, the ministry said.

Turkish officials said the Russian plane was first warned that it was within ten miles of the Turkish border, and the aircraft then crossed over Turkish territory, adding that a second plane had also approached the border and been warned.

‘The data we have is very clear. There were two planes approaching our border, we warned them as they were getting too close,’ a senior Turkish official said.

‘We warned them to avoid entering Turkish airspace before they did, and we warned them many times. Our findings show clearly that Turkish airspace was violated multiple times. And they violated it knowingly,’ the official said.

NATO allies will hold an ‘extraordinary’ meeting later today at Ankara’s request to discuss Tuesday morning’s incident, an alliance official said.

‘At the request of Turkey, the North Atlantic Council will hold an extraordinary meeting at 4pm. The aim of this extraordinary NAC is for Turkey to inform Allies about the downing of a Russian airplane,’ the official said.

The North Atlantic Council consists of ambassadors from the 28 NATO member states.

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A Turkish military statement, issued before it was confirmed that the jet was Russian, said the plane entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi, in Hatay province.

‘On Nov. 24, 2015 at around 09.20am, a plane whose nationality is not known violated the Turkish airspace despite several warnings (ten times within five minutes) in the area of Yayladagi, Hatary.

‘Two F-16 planes on aerial patrol duty in the area intervened against the plane in question in accordance with the rules of engagement at 09.24am.’

The Turkish Army later released a radar analysis image which they say tracks the movement of the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet, showing where it entered Turkish air space, and where it went down.

‘This isn’t an action against any specific country. Our F-16s took the necessary steps to defend Turkey’s sovereign territory,’ a Turkish official told news agencies on condition of anonymity.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that they are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet.

‘The Ministry of Defence would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight.’

The statement also claimed that the Sukhoi-24 had been shot down from the ground at the altitude of 6,000 metres (3.73m).

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Vladimir Putin’s spokesman called the downing of the Su-24 warplane a ‘very serious incident’ but declined to comment further until more facts emerged.

‘It is just impossible to say something without having full information,’ said Dmitry Peskov.

Russia’s government-run TV Zvezda claimed the warplane had been in Syrian airspace the entire time, which allegedly could be proven by ‘control systems’, a ministry spokesman said.

‘It’s the kind of thing we’re been warning about,’ said Ian Kearns, director of the European Leadership Network think-tank in London.

‘And it’s a direct military engagement between a NATO country and Russia, so I think it’s a serious incident in anybody’s book.’

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has spoken with the chief of military staff and the foreign minister about the developments on the Syrian border, the prime minister’s office said in a statement, without mentioning the downed jet.

He has ordered the foreign ministry to consult with NATO, the United Nations and related countries on the latest developments, his office said.

Last month, Turkish jets shot down an unidentified drone that had also violated Turkey’s airspace.

Turkey and Russia have long been at loggerheads over the Syrian conflict, with Ankara seeking Assad’s overthrow while Moscow does everything to keep him in power.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to visit Turkey on Wednesday to discuss Syria, in a trip arranged before this incident.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is meanwhile expected to visit Russia for talks with Putin in late December.

Russia’s participation in the Syrian peace process talks in Vienna, the co-operation on the UN Security Council resolution and meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nato leaders provided signs of a renewed diplomatic engagement between Moscow and the West in recent weeks.

French President Francois Hollande will meet Mr Putin on Thursday and Russia has offered co-operation in the fight against IS following the atrocities in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt.
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