Russian helicopter on Aleppo aid mission shot down, all 5 aboard dead.
A Russian Mi-8 helicopter has been shot down by ground fire in Syria
following delivery of humanitarian supplies to Aleppo, the Defense
Ministry said. Three crew and two officers from Russia's Reconciliation
Center died, according to a Kremlin statement.
The helicopter was returning to the Russian air base at Khmeimim, the
statement added. The ministry has not yet revealed identities of those
on board.
The Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria has operated
at Khmeimim air base since February. It contributes to peace talks
between Syrian government and moderate opposition factions not aligned
with IS, Al-Nusra Front or other terrorist groups.
The center also
oversees ceasefire agreements between belligerent parties and delivery
of humanitarian supplies to various parts of Syria.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed in a statement later in the day that all those on board are dead.
Last week the Syrian government and Russia launched an effort to
evacuate civilians wishing to leave Aleppo, establishing safe corridors
and providing food, medical assistance and transport for those who chose
to use them. Scores of people, mostly women and children, rushed to
abandon the battered city, which has been contested by several armed
forces.
The Syrian opposition decried the move, claiming it was an
attempt to depopulate the city, a part of which remains one of its
strongholds.
The Syrian Army has lost several aircraft over the
last two months, indicating that militants may have received new
anti-aircraft weapons lately.
It is the third Russian helicopter lost in action in Syria this year.
In July, an Mi-25 attack chopper was shot down near Palmyra, killing
two Russian pilots. The aircraft had been engaging the advancing Islamic
State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants at the Syrian Army's request
when it was taken down, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
In
April, an Mi-28N attack helicopter crashed while performing a flight
near the city of Homs, with the Defense Ministry stressing it was not
shot down. The crash left both pilots dead, with technical failure cited
by Moscow as the likely cause of the accident.
Last October,
another Mi-8 helicopter was badly damaged and then destroyed by IS
fighters after an emergency landing in the middle of search and rescue
operation to extract a surviving co-pilot of a Su-24M bomber jet shot
which was down by a Turkish Air Force F-16.
