Ankara: Turkey on Tuesday shot down a Russian military plane on the Syrian border, local media reported, citing military sources.
A plane exploded in the air and the fireball fell on a Turkmen mountain on the Syrian side of the border, CNN-Turk and NTV televisions reported. A Turkish government official told AFP: “We are tying to identify the nationality of the plane.”
Long criticised by its allies for taking too soft a line against militants, Turkey is taking firmer action against the Islamic State on the border with Syria after being shaken by attacks on its soil and the Paris assaults.
Ankara is sealing its border to the militants who moved to and fro across the frontier during much of the four-year civil war in Syria and stepping up raids against Islamic State suspects.
