November 24th, 2015.

Russian Su24 attacked near Syrian border and Helicopter downed in Latakia.

A Russian Su24 aircraft has been shot down in the Syrian/Turkey border region by an air to air missile fired from a  Turkish F16 fighter jet

In addition it a Russian MI8 helicopter has been downed in Latakia. It is being reported that the helicopter was trying to recover the missing Russian pilot.  According to the rebels, the helicopter was brought down with a US supplied TOW anti-tank missile, the helicopter was able to land the 10 or so people on board evacuated the helicopter and the rebels then blew it up on the ground.(Source)

Video by FSA said-to-show Russian-made grounded helicopter destroyed by TOW near Su-24 crash site

The Independent state that the Su24 pilots ejected and parachuted to the ground and that several helicopters were dispatched to save the pilots but that there are heavy clashes ongoing in the area.

Despite both pilots being raked with machine gun fire as they fell to the earth one of the pilots survived and is back at the Latakia airbase, the other pilot and one member of the rescue teams were killed.

Turkey shoots down ‘Russian jet’ near Syrian border and video shows plane coming down | Middle East | News | The Independent

This is an extremely dangerous situation as a NATO member, has apparently just attacked Russia.

This is a nightmarish scenario because Russia will not put up with any nonsense from Turkey or anyone else.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets shoot down jet of unknown origin near Syrian border – ABC Australia.

The Russian President has delivered a response to the downing of the Russian fighter and the death of at least one pilot.

Vladimir Putin spoke from Sochi where he was meeting King Abdullah of Jordan.

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

This is a transcript of Putin’s comments.

Meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan • President of Russia

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much, Your Majesty.

Thank you for your condolences, including your words in connection with today’s crash of our fighter aircraft. This event goes beyond regular efforts to combat terrorism.

Our servicemen are engaged in a heroic fight against terrorism, not sparing themselves or their own lives. However, today’s loss is a result of a stab in the back delivered by terrorists’ accomplices. There is no other way I can qualify what happened today.

Our aircraft was shot down over Syrian territory by an air-to-air missile launched from a Turkish F-16 plane. It fell on Syrian territory, four kilometres from the Turkish border. When it was attacked in the air, it was flying at an altitude of 6,000 metres, one kilometre away from the Turkish territory. In any case, our plane and our pilots were in no way a threat to the Turkish Republic in any way. This is obvious.

They were conducting an operation to fight ISIS in northern Latakia – a mountainous area where militants, mainly those coming from the Russian Federation, are concentrated. In this sense, they were doing their direct duty delivering preventive blows at terrorists who could return to Russia at any moment. Those people should certainly be classified as international terrorists.

We have long been recording the movement of a large amount of oil and petroleum products to Turkey from ISIS-occupied territories. This explains the significant funding the terrorists are receiving. Now they are stabbing us in the back by hitting our planes that are fighting terrorism. This is happening despite the agreement we have signed with our American partners to prevent air incidents, and, as you know, Turkey is among those who are supposed to be fighting terrorism within the American coalition.

If ISIS is making so much money – we are talking about tens or maybe even hundreds of millions, possibly billions of dollars – in oil trade and they are supported by the armed forces of an entire state, it is clear why they are being so daring and impudent, why they are killing people in such gruesome ways, why they are committing terrorist attacks all over the world, including in the heart of Europe.

We will of course carefully analyse what has happened and today’s tragic event will have significant consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.

We have always treated Turkey not merely as a close neighbour, but as a friendly state. I do not know who benefits from what has happened today. We certainly do not. Moreover, instead of immediately establishing contacts with us, as far as we know Turkey turned to its NATO partners to discuss this incident. As if we had hit their plane and not the other way around.

Do they wish to make NATO serve ISIS? I know that every state has its regional interests, and we always respect those. However, we will never turn a blind eye to such crimes as the one that was committed today.

Obviously, we expect the international community to make an effort to join forces in the fight against this common evil.

In this connection, we are counting on the active participation of all the countries in the region in this struggle. I am therefore very happy to meet with you today, Your Majesty. We will continue working with your special services experts and your military, as well as with other countries in the region.

Thank you.

Putin is generally a  very, very cold individual, today he seemed both tired and enraged.

The US has offered no comment at this stage, a NATO emergency meeting is scheduled for later in the day.

This may be the beginning of a chain of cataclysmic events.

The shooting down of Syrian aircraft by Turkey has happened several times already but the entrance of Russia puts an entirely different complexion on this event as it does all others in this war.

The Russian Airforce are destroying ISIL and all the Syrian rebel groups, this situation is intolerable to the likes of the Turkish, Saudi, Israeli governments and American Neocon elements.

Preliminary accounts from Russia and Turkey. (Source)

Here’s Russia’s Ministry of Defence version of what happened

Today an aircraft from the Russian air group in the Syrian Arab Republic crashed on the territory of Syria supposedly shot down from the ground.

The aircraft was flying at the altitude of 6,000 metres. The status of the Russian pilots is being defined.

According to the preliminary data, the pilots managed to eject from the warplane.

The circumstances of the crash are being defined.

During all the flight time, the aircraft was flying only within the borders of the Syrian territory. That was registered by objective monitoring data.

Turkey’s version of events courtesy of the state Anadolu agency”

Turkish jets shot down a warplane believed to be a Russian type SU-24 for violating Turkey’s airspace near its border with Syria on Tuesday, Turkish presidential sources said.

The warplane went down in Syria’s northwestern Turkmen town of Bayirbucak near Turkey’s border within the framework of engagement rules, the sources added.

The Turkish General Staff said the downed foreign jet was issued 10 warnings in five minutes and it was shot down by two F-16s.

Turkish Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar briefed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the situation following the crash. Akar along with Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu also briefed Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Former British diplomat Craig Murray offered this early assessment of Turkey’s actions.

I calculate that each “incursion” over Turkish territory would have lasted about 10 seconds, assuming the plane was flying slowly at 600mph. That Turkey shot down the plane for this is madness, and absolutely indefensible. It is fairly obvious from the track that the plane was operating against Turkish sponsored Turkmen rebels inside Syria, and that is why the Turks shot it down. (Source)

As far as Turkeys demands for their sovereignty to be respected go, that is an absolute joke as Turkey respects neither the sovereignty of Iraq nor Syria launching frequent bombing attacks on Kurdish targets in both nations.

The idea that they should perceive an aircraft in their airspace as a threat and target it on hat basis is not credible.

Turkey is so audacious and criminal they have set up a military observation position complete with NATO listening post INSIDE Syria as this Russian television report depicts.

Great Russian TV report from the Syrian town Kessab on the border with Turkey

This is a provocation that in a worst case scenario could lead to all out war between NATO and Russia leaving an unthinkable number of people dead.

Russian sources are already describing this as a NATO declaration of war on Russia.

Close-up footage of Russian Su-24M jet falling in flames hit at Syria-Turkey border

Warplane crashes in Syria near Turkey border Turkish media VIDEO

Syria: Turkey downs Russian Su-24 close to Latakia

NEW VIDEO: Russian Su-24 fighter jet downed over Syria, parachute seen in sky

Russia: DefMin release scheme of Syrian, Turkish airspace at time Su-24 was downed

International Military Review – Syria-Iraq Battlespace, Nov. 24, 2015

This story is still developing and will be fleshed out as more information becomes available.