Russia: Syrian Army Has 1 Downed Pilot

Russia: Syrian Army Has 1 Downed Pilot

A missing pilot shot down over Turkey was rescued by Syrian army commandos and taken to a Russian base, Russian and Syrian officials said Wednesday. A second pilot was killed by rebel fighters while parachuting from the burning plane. Russian defense official Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy told the BBC that a marine involved in a rescue operation for the pilots was also killed. Rudskoy said the rest of the rescue team was evacuated from the area to a nearby Russian air base. During an interview with Europe 1 radio, Alexander Orlov, Russian’s ambassador to France, denied Turkish government statements that the Russian plane had been repeatedly warned before it was shot out of the sky, accusing the country of being an “accomplice” to ISIS militants.