Syria rebels shoot down Russian plane in north-west Idlib province

Rebel fighters shot down a Russian plane over Syria's north-west Idlib province on Saturday, the Telegraph reports.

The pilot was initially reported captured but later reports said he had been killed. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Russian pilot was dead but had no immediate further details.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but hardline opposition groups and the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) are active in Idlib.

Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in the Syrian Arab Republic along with the Turkish military is trying to organise the return of the Russian military’s body