Russian Air Force kills over 30 jihadists in area where pilot was killed: MoD

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the country’s air forces conducted a high-precision group strike of the area controlled by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham militants in Idlib, from where a projectile was fired downing Russian Su-25 aircraft.
“A group strike using precision weapons has been conducted in the area controlled by the Jabhat al-Nusra [Jabhat Fatah al-Sham] terrorist group in Idlib province, from where the missile was launched against the [downed] Russian Su-25 airplane. According to radio intercepts, as a result of the strike, more than 30 militants of Jabhat al-Nusra were destroyed,” the report by the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The strike followed the downing of the Russian Su-25 aircraft in the area.
“The plane was flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone,” the military stated.
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The Defense Ministry revealed that according to preliminary information as to the possible cause of the downing, the plane may have been shot down by a man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD).
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the pilot managed to eject from the aircraft and survive, but was killed during a subsequent battle with terrorists.
“The pilot reported on a bailout in an area controlled by rebels Jabhat Fatah al-Sham [previously known as al-Nusra Front]. When conducting a fight with terrorists, the pilot died,” the Defense Ministry said.
According to the ministry, Russia and Turkey, peace guarantor in Syria’s Idlib de-escalation zone, are taking all possible efforts to return the body of the killed pilot.
During the two-years long military operation in Syria, Russia lost four aircraft and four helicopters. According to Russian Defense Minister Yury Borisov, the country’s air forces used modernized Su-25SM ground attack aircraft are being used in Syria.
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The Su-25 attack aircraft is designed to destroy small-size mobile and fixed ground objects, as well as low-speed air targets.
The conflict took place on the territory controlled by the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham terror group amid the ongoing military operation against them conducted by the Syrian forces.
Among various terror groups operating in the area, there is also Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an umbrella terrorist group spearheaded this year by the former Al-Nusra Front. While some countries such as the United States have flagged HTS as a terrorist group, Russian officials continue to refer to the Salafist jihadist terrorist organization by its old Al-Nusra moniker. Al-Nusra was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2016, when it ostensibly split from the world’s most well-known terrorist network.
Source: Sputnik