Turkey shoots down Russian jet: 'Dead Russian pilot' depicted in Syria rebels' video

Footage has emerged allegedly showing one of the Russian pilots of the jet that was downed by Turkish fighters immobile on the ground, presumably dead. The video depicts rebel fighters surrounding the body of a man whose outfit resembles that of Russian pilots in Syria. There are also multiple matches between the gear and patches on the dead pilot, and reference pictures of Russian pilots operating in the country.

The group that claimed to be in custody of the dead pilot is Alwiya al-Anshar, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) group with logistical links to Turkey. It said the Russian pilot was dead upon landing. Meanwhile, Turkey's armed forces released a radar map of a warplane violating Turkish airspace:

Turkey fighter jets shot down the warplane, a Russian Su-24, after repeatedly warning it over air space violations, according to Turkish officials. The military said the downed jet was warned 10 times in five minutes before being shot down by its own F-16 fighter jets. The Russian defence ministry claimed the jet "hadn't violated Turkish airspace" and said it can prove the aircraft "was over Syria for whole flight".

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has ordered the foreign ministry to hold consultations with Nato, the UN and related countries on Syrian border developments. Putin's spokesman says downing of Russian warplane is a "very serious incident" but it is too early to draw conclusions.

Footage from private Turkish broadcaster Haberturk TV showed the warplane going down in flames in a woodland area. Other footage from Turkey's Anadolu agency showed two pilots parachuting out of the jet before it crashed.

History of Russian jets over Turkey

In October, Turkey scrambled a pair of F-16 jets to intercept Russian warplanes that had allegedly violated its airspace. The Russian ambassador was also summoned to the ministry in protest against the violation. Turkey urged Russia not to repeat the violation or it would be held "responsible for any undesired incident that may occur".

Russia and Turkey have long been at odds over Syria, with Russian President Vladimir Putin emerging as President Bashar al-Assad's main international supporter, and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeking his removal as key to the solution to the conflict.

Turkey has given funds and arms to Islamist rebels seeking to oust the Syrian president and has been lobbying for an Islamic State (Isis)-free safe zone, where some of the two million Syrian refugees could be hosted. Erdogan has accused Syrian military of turning a blind eye to the killing of dozens of civilians.

Turkey had warned Russia that it must stop bombing "civilian Turkmen villages" in Syria close to the Turkish border. The Russian ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry to hear the protest.

Turkey warned that bombing villages populated by the Turkmen minority could lead to "serious consequences". Assad forces have launched a ground offensive on the mainly Turkmen villages in Bayir Bucak, north-west Latakia province.