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Turkey confirms its Air Force downed intruder plane

According to its statement, the intruder plane had been warned ten times before being attacked by two F-16 fighters of the Turkish Air Force
F-16 fighter of the Turkish Air Force EPA/MICHAEL WALCZAK
F-16 fighter of the Turkish Air Force
© EPA/MICHAEL WALCZAK

ANKARA, November 24. /TASS/. Turkey’s General Staff on Tuesday said the country’s Air Force attacked a plane that had reportedly violated the country’s airspace. According to its statement, the intruder plane had been warned ten times before being attacked by two F-16 fighters of the Turkish Air Force.

"On November 24, at about 09:20 (10:20 Moscow time) an unidentified plane spotted over Yayladagi Region over a period of five minutes received ten warnings but nevertheless violated the Turkish airspace. According to the rules of response our two F-16 fighters that were patrolling the area offered resistance to that plane," the statement runs.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said there had been an incident involving a Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft of the Russian Air Group deployed in Syria on Tuesday. The Russian plane crashed in Syrian territory, presumably following an attack from the ground. At the moment of the attack the plane was at an altitude of 6,000 meters. Both pilots reportedly managed to eject themselves.

"A probe into the Russian plane’s crash is underway. Throughout the flight the plane remained invariably within Syrian airspace. Objective monitoring data confirm that," the Defense Ministry said.