Tuesday, November 24, 2015

ESCALATION (Updated): Turkey Shoots Down Russian Jet Near Border, U.S. Backed Rebels Release Video Of Dead Russian Pilot



Check the links below these articles for live updates from RT, which is showing the most recent updates, interviews, video footage etc.


UPDATED:


One Dead as Russian Mi-8 Helicopter Attacked During Rescue Mission in Syria






Turkish F-16s Shoot Down Russian Su-24 Warplane Near Syria Border


Moments ago a big black geopolitical swan landed when newswires lit up with headlines that a Turkish F-16 shot down what was initially said to be an unidentified warplane near the Syrian border after it violated Turkey's airspace on Tuesday, a Turkish military official said, but the nationality of the downed aircraft was not immediately clear.
The Russian jet crashed in the mountainous Jabal Turkmen area of Latakia, where air strikes and fighting between rebels and Syrian government forces were reported earlier on Tuesday. 

According to Reuters, Turkish F16s warned the jet repeatedly over the airspace violations before shooting it down.


Footage from private broadcaster Haberturk TV showed a warplane going down in flames in a woodland area, a long plume of smoke trailing behind it. The plane went down in area known by Turks as "Turkmen Mountain" in northern Syria near the Turkish border, Haberturk said.


Minutes later, the Turkish Lira sank like a rock while risk assets across Europe tumbled when the Turkish presidency confirmed that, as many had expected, the jet was a Russian fighter jet, which the Russian Defense Ministry later said was a Su-24. The Su-24 jet was warned after violating Turkish airspace and was then downed in line with Turkey’s rules of engagement, Anadolu says, citing officials at the presidency.
According to Todays' Szaman, in a statement, the Turkish military said a plane of unknown origin was shot down after it violated the Turkish airspace despite repeated warnings. The aircraft was warned 10 times in 5 minutes, the military said.

However, while moments ago the Russian defense ministry confirmed that the shot down plane was indeed one of its own in what will be deemed a clear act of aggression by a NATO-member country against Russia, the Russian defense ministry said it could prove the aircraft was over Syria for the entire flight.

Meanwhile, Turkish media reported that either one or both of the pilots may have been captured by Turkmen forces located in the region.


This huge escalation in the Syrian proxy war, one where a NATO country has openly attacked a non-NATO country (if Russia is correct and it did not violate Turkish airspace), comes after Turkey called this week for a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in neighboring Syria, and last week Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the bombing of their villages.


We await a formal reaction by Russia, one which we doubt will be calm, cool and collected and may in fact see the Turkish aggression as an act of war if indeed the Russian Su never entered Turkish territory.



Here is the official statement by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov via Sputnik:





"So far, we have not heard the reason for the crash of our attack aircraft from the Defense Ministry. We know for sure that the aircraft was in Syrian airspace, over the territory of Syria," Peskov said, noting that the ministry's first statement on the crash was based on preliminary information.

"It would be wrong to make some kind of assumptions right now, to make any statements until we have the complete picture. Therefore, we just have to be patient. This is a very serious incident, but again, it is impossible to say anything without complete information," he added.

"It can be assumed that the president… will touch upon this issue during the talk with the king, and that there will be some kind of a reaction," Peskov told reporters when asked whether Putin would make a statement on the matter.



At first blush it is not clear how the airspace violating jet could have received "10 warnings" in the several seconds it took to cross what the Turks claim was the offending Turkish territory, especially since the plane ultimately crashed in Syrian territory.









A few hours ago, Turkey decided that it would be a good idea to shoot down a Russian Su-24 near the Syrian border. It was the first time in nearly 60 years that a NATO member has shot down a Russian warplane. 



There are competing accounts as to what led to the “incident”: 
  • Russia: “So far, we have not heard the reason for the crash of our attack aircraft from the Defense Ministry. We know for sure that the aircraft was in Syrian airspace, over the territory of Syria," 
  • Turkey: "We warned them to avoid entering Turkish airspace before they did, and we warned them many times. Our findings show clearly that Turkish airspace was violated multiple times. And they violated it knowingly.”


So, as The Kremlin contemplates how best to respond to what is quite clearly the most serious escalation to date in Syria’s multi-sided, five-year civil war, the search is on for the two Russian pilots who ejected as the plane went down. Needless to say, just about the last place you want to be running around if you’re a fighter pilot is Syria.
But the search for the two men may be a lost cause. According to a video sent to Reuters, by “a Syrian rebel group”, at least one of the pilots is dead. Here's the official word from AFP:

The footage “appears to show a Russian pilot immobile and badly wounded on the ground,” Reuters says, adding that the rebels can be heard saying “a Russian pilot”, and “God is great” in the background. Here's the clip:


ISIS is not known to operate in the region, which is controlled by the Free Syrian Army. 


Now, both Moscow and Ankara are scrambling to figure out next steps. Frants Klintsevich, deputy head of Russia's upper house security and defense committee called the act “extremely agressive,” and says "NATO countries are trying to demonize Russia and discredit its actions against international terrorism." “This is a provocation," he added, but did say that direct confrontation with Turkey would be "absurd." 
For his part, State Duma Deputy Speaker Nikolai Levichev says Russia should cut off air traffic to Turkey and evacuate Russian citizens.
Meanwhile, Turkey contends that it wouldn't have mattered whose jet it was, it would have been shot down regardless for violating the country's airspace. "Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet was in line with clearly defined military rules of engagement and wasn’t an action against any specific country," an official told Bloomberg by text message. 
So we suppose if that were say, a Saudi warplane, Turkey would have shot it down too. 
Here's a second video released by the FSA:

That would of course be the same FSA that's backed by the US and the same FSA who is allied with al-Nusra with whom the group shares American and Saudi-supplied TOWs and other advanced weaponry(see here).

As The Telegraph notes, "Alwiya al-Ashar [that's an FSA brigade] is one of around a dozen Turkmen groups fighting alongside Syria's rebels. It is linked to a Turkish and CIA-backed logistics supply programme that funnels a near-constant stream of small arms, ammunition, and cash for salaries to rebel groups across northern Syria."


So just to be clear on what's happened here in case the gravity of the situation is somehow lost on anyone, a NATO member from whose airbase the US is flying combat missions, just shot down a Russian fighter jet and the US-backed, al-Qaeda aligned FSA has released not one, but two videos depicting their fighters dancing over the body of a dead Russian pilot while shouting "Allahu Akbar" and holding up the "we're number one" hand signal.






Putin: Downing of Russian jet over Syria stab in the back by terrorist accomplices — RT News



Turkey backstabbed Russia by downing the Russian warplane and acted as accomplices of the terrorists, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
The plane was hit by a Turkish warplane as it was travelling 1 km away from the Turkish border, Putin said. The plane posed no threat to Turkish national security, he stressed.
Putin said the plane was targeting terrorist targets in the Latakia province of Syria, many of whom came from Russia.
Russia noticed of the flow of oil from Syrian territory under the control of terrorists to Turkey, Putin said.
Apparently, IS now not only receives revenue from the smuggling of oil, but also has the protection of a nation’s military, Putin said. This may explain why the terrorist group is so bold in taking acts of terrorism across the world, he added.
The incident will have grave consequences for Russia’s relations with Turkey, Putin warned.
The fact that Turkey did not try to contact Russia in the wake of the incident and rushed to call a NATO meeting instead is worrisome, Putin said. It appears that Turkey want NATO to serve the interests of IS, he added.





Live Updates: On Air — RT





















7 comments:

Caver said...

Whwooooo. No. You don't do this. You just don't. Not shooting defenseless parachute bound crew.

When pilots/crew die as a result of the shoot down.....well, it happens and is part of the accepted risk.
If those pilots/crew died trying to escape capture after landing.....well, it happens and is part of the accepted risk.

Every military member understands the this. It goes with the territory and creed.

BUT.....

Shooting a man floating down on a parachute is against every military agreement, the Geneva agreements, code of conduct observed between all men of conflict everywhere.....every strand of honor among combatants.

This is considered such an act of cowardliness as to defy any mutual respect among competing combat arms. It invites like type treatment of every prisnor captured.

Have no idea what Putin will do, there's so many ways of handling it, but the more I hear of this the more I think he's going to do SOMETHING so devastating, so crippling, so ugly as to make the other side do some serious contemplation as to a method of response or just get totally consumed in surviving and not attempt to pay back or escalate.

My suspicion is that the Russian military and government's response is going to be ugly beyond belief. And rightly so.

WVBORN56 said...

I get that Caver completely but remember these terrorists also blow up and shoot defenseless women and children without even a second thought. They do not play by the rules.

I do wonder how Turkey and Russia along with Iran finally get together to invade Israel in Ezekiel 39? It does not seem like that can be in the immediate future. I know the rapture is a game changer but right now Turkey and Russia sure seem miles apart. Thoughts?

Scott said...

Stay tuned. This could change on a dime. Turkey's leader may not last long esp if he keeps poking the bear. That situation is very volatile and i expect we will see a lot if changes in Turkey now, esp if they are in russia's crosshairs

Caver said...

HI WV....I'm going to defer to Mrs C on this one for a number of reasons. One, the dentist put me on some rather serious pain meds this afternoon....and I don't think anyone would enjoy trying to follow me trying to string several chains of thought together.

But, while Mrs C and I aren't in perfect agreement on all events here, we do completely agree that it is NOT oil/gas that leads Russia in. God puts a thought, hook, in. Revenge could well be it but suspect its far deeper and more complicated....but relatively sure it isn't just oil/gas.

And yes, today's terrorists have done a number of things to mark themselves for "special" treatment. But to do this to the opponents military gets a little special/personal emphasis.

As for Turkey, agree with Scott....things could change there real quick. For years their military took out any leader that tried to drag the country in religious directions. I believe there is a huge movement under the surface to stop this charge to the Islamic mindset. Of course, there are just as many ecstatic at this new direction.

I believe Mrs C will come on in a bit and give her thoughts. Is 17 is a subject she does have very special insight on.

Peter said...

Which nation are which in the text?

Who is Magog?
Who is Meshech?
Who is Tubal?
Who is Cush?
Who is Put?
Who is Gomer?
Who is Beth-togarmah?

Peter said...

If this event causes NATO nations to defend Turkey, that means all NATO nations are siding with ISIS and the evil of Islam. This is when America should be allied with Russia and not Antichrist Magog.

Mrs.C said...

Those that are mere tag-along's to Russia, are a remnant of their perspective nations. None of them lead, only Russia does, and that is Gods target, their leader.
Iran, Turkey are weak, for example and between now and the Ezekiel invasion, something will happen to them for sure. Whether it be natural disasters orchestrated by God, or Israel taking action, they will be diminished in power.
The Isaiah 17 war, will leave Israel devastated, as God tells us, "desolation". At the end of this, the evil nations surrounding Israel, move in to finish her off. This is when God begins to step forward, after thousands of years, and "rebukes" these nations. Ezekiel Chapters 25-32 God will unleash His Judgement upon them. A portion of Iran, in the west Elam, will be toast. Lebanon, the coast, will be submerged under water, "never to be found again" as God tells us. The Isaiah 17 war, leaves Israel weak, defenseless, and only God can save them, which is just what He wants. He brings them to their knees, and at the same time, destroys their surrounding enemies. The landscape, the topography will all be devastated. He has answered the Psalm 83 Prayer, and is beginning to reveal Himself to His People, turning His attention back to them and away from His Church...