Syrian rebels appear to have shot down a Russian Su-25, pilot believed captured or killed
- A Russian Su-25 was reportedly shot down in Syria on Saturday, and the pilot may have been killed by Syrian rebels.
- Russia has increased bombing runs in Idlib in the last month, which has resulted in more than one hundred civilian deaths and displaced more than 100,000 people.
A Russian Su-25 appears to have been shot down in Syria's Idlib province on Saturday.
Jaish al-Nasr, a faction in the Free Syrian Army, released footage of the Su-25 getting shot down, and more video has appeared of the wreckage.
The pilot reportedly safely ejected, but has since been captured by local forces, according to the BBC. Images circulating on social media later appeared suggesting he was found and killed by Syrian rebels.
Russia and the Syrian regime have increased airstrikes in Idlib and Eastern Ghouta in the last month, two of the Syrian rebels' last remaining strongholds.
Scores of adults and children were killed and wounded in Idlib, and about 100,000 people were displaced in the first two weeks of January alone. At least 177 civilians were killed and more than 800 were also wounded in Eastern Ghouta in that same period.
Russia's increase in bombing runs in Idlib may have been in response to the rebel drone attack on its Hmeymim air force base in December.
Moscow later accused the US of helping the rebels target its air base, and even accused Ukraine of making the explosives.
The US and Ukraine strongly denied the claims.