Advanced Russian fighter jet crashes off Syria’s coast, killing both pilots
Birds blamed for accident, with officials denying the aircraft was shot down
A Russian fighter jet crashed on Thursday off the coast of Syria, killing both pilots, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry, which said the plane did not come under fire and the crash may have been caused by a bird getting sucked into one of the engines.
State news agency Tass cited the ministry as saying the Su-30 crashed soon after take-off from the Russian airbase at Hemeimeem in Syria. Russia has been waging an air campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces since 2015.
In March, a Russian military cargo plane crashed as it was descending to land at Hemeimeem, killing all 39 people on-board. The military blamed the crash on a technical error and insisted the plane was not shot down.
Russia leases the Hemeimeem military base in Syria, near the Mediterranean coast.
In the capital Damascus, Syrian troops managed to capture more areas from Islamic State on the southern edge of the city cutting the region held by extremists into two parts.
The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said troops cut off IS fighters based in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk from those in the Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood to the south.
