Russian chopper pilot killed in N. Syria: Local sources

By Mohamed Misto

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - A Russian pilot was killed on Monday when his helicopter crashed in northern Syria, local opposition sources told Anadolu Agency.

The sources, who spoke anonymously due to fears for their safety, said the helicopter had crashed while carrying out a bombing operation in the city of Saraqeb in the eastern countryside of Idlib province.

According to local eyewitnesses, the pilot was killed after his helicopter was engulfed in flames.

The witnesses could not provide additional details.

In a statement issued early Monday afternoon, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that a Russian Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter with five people aboard had been shot down while attempting to land at Khmeimim Airbase.

Khmeimim Airbase is located in Syria’s Latakia province to the immediate west of Idlib.

According to the ministry statement, the search for missing passengers is currently underway.

Meanwhile, local anti-regime activists posted images online of what they said showed the Russian pilot’s dead body.

The helicopter crash comes amid fierce fighting between Syrian regime troops and opposition forces as the latter attempt to break an ongoing siege on the city of Aleppo -- located northeast of Idlib -- imposed by the regime and its allies.

Opposition forces have reportedly managed to seize several important positions in Aleppo’s southwestern countryside recently.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.