Russian pilot killed after Syrian rebels shoot down plane

BEIRUT: A Russian pilot was killed on Saturday in clashes with hardline rebels after they downed his warplane over Syria's northwest province of Idlib, a monitor said.
"The pilot was killed as he fought Islamist rebels who had shot down his plane and were taking him captive," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

Abdel Rahman could not immediately confirm which hardline factions were involved but said the Sukhoi 25 was downed in an area where the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is active.