Turkey shoots down Russia warplane on Syria border @JIhadwatchRS

NOVEMBER 24, 2015 10:04 AM BY ROBERT SPENCER

The Russian plane was there to attack the Islamic State. Could Erdogan’s Turkey possibly make it clearer which side it is on? The NATO alliances were constructed during the Cold War, and they are outmoded. Turkey is neither a friend of the United States nor a foe of the global jihad. NATO drastically needs reconfiguring.

“Turkey shoots down Russian warplane on Syria border,” BBC, November 24, 2015:

Turkish warplanes have shot down a Russian military aircraft on the border with Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Su-24 was hit by air-to-air missiles fired by Turkish F-16s while it was flying over Syrian territory.

But Turkish military officials said the plane was engaged after being warned that it was violating Turkish airspace.

Mr Putin described the incident as a “stab in the back” committed by “accomplices of terrorists”.

The crew ejected before the jet crashed in Latakia province, but Syrian rebels said at least one was dead.

It is the first time a Russian aircraft has crashed in Syria since Moscow launched air strikes against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in late September.

The Nato military alliance, to which Turkey belongs, said it was following the situation “closely” and was in contact with the Turkish authorities. There will be an “informational meeting” of ambassadors in Brussels at 16:00 GMT.
‘Exclusively above Syria’

At a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Sochi, Russia’s president confirmed that the Su-24 had been shot down over Syrian territory, 1km (0.6 miles) from the Turkish border, by an air-to-air missile from a Turkish F-16 jet.

It crashed in Syrian territory 4km (2.5 miles) from the border, he added.

“This goes beyond the normal struggle against terrorism. This was a stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists,” Mr Putin stated, an apparent reference to Turkey’s support for Syrian rebel groups.

“Our pilots and our plane did not in any way threaten Turkey. It is quite clear,” he added.

“They were carrying out an operation against [Islamic State militants] in the mountains of northern Latakia, where militants who originate from Russian territory are concentrated. So they were carrying the key task of preventative attacks against those who could return to Russia at any time.”…

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