Syria’s official news agency said two of its warplane were shot down by Turkish forces inside northwest Syria, amid a military escalation there that’s led to growing direct clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces.
SANA says the jets were targeted over the Idlib region, and that the four pilots ejected with parachutes and landed safely.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down two SU-24 aircraft and destroyed air defense systems after one of its aerial drones was downed. Earlier, Syrian military-run media said it had downed a drone inside northwest Syria, and was closing its airspace for any flights or drones across the country’s northwestern region. It said any aircraft that penetrates Syrian airspace will be treated as hostile and shot down.
Freelance Syrian journalist Mazen Hassoun posted a video on Twitter which claims to show Syrian aircraft being brought down by the Turkish military. "SANA (regime official media) confirms Turkey downed two regime jets in Idlib and says pilots landed in regime-held territories," he wrote in his tweet.