A Russian fighter jet was shot down in Syria on Saturday in the Idlib province near the rebel-held town of Saraqib. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports the pilot ejected from the plane with a parachute and was killed after surviving the descent, though this has not been independently confirmed.
Russia's Sukhoi-25 jet is used for air strikes and close-range support of ground troops, suggesting the plane that went down may have been involved in airstrikes on a convoy of civilian refugees in the same area Saturday morning. That attack also happened in Idlib near Saraqib, Reuters reports. "We believe two Russian planes struck the convoy of civilians on the highway," said Ammar al Adnan, a local civil defense worker, leaving "at least seven killed and 12 injured, mostly elderly and children."
Russia denies targeting civilians in its air war supporting the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.