Syrian rebels claim they destroyed Russian chopper

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A Russian helicopter was blown up by Syrian rebels following an emergency landing in government-held territory after it was damaged by rebel fire, but its crew was able to escape, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian helicopters were combing the area between Jabal Turkman and government-held Kassab on the Turkish border searching for one of the Russian pilots who ejected from a fighter plane shot down by Turkey.

Nearby, the monitor said rebels fired on a Russian helicopter, damaging it and forcing it to make an emergency landing in government-held territory.

The crew was able to flee but rebels blew up the helicopter shortly afterwards with a TOW anti-tank missile, the monitor said.

A video circulating online purported to show the helicopter on the ground being blown up.

US-made TOW missiles have been supplied by Washington and other rebel backers to several opposition groups in Syria.

Russia began an air campaign in Syria on September 30, saying it was targeting the Islamic State jihadist group and other “terrorists”.

But Syria’s rebel groups and their backers accuse Moscow of focusing on Islamist and moderate opposition fighters rather than jihadists.

Fierce battles have raged for the past several days between rebel groups, not including IS, and regime forces backed by Russian air power in parts of northern Latakia province.

The regime has made some advances, though the frontline has shifted in both directions, according to the Observatory.