Damascus: Syrian rebels have released a video in which they claim to have hit a Russian-made helicopter with a US-made TOW missile.
The helicopter was destroyed by the Free Syrian Army's (FSA) 1st Coastal Brigade when it was on the ground.
The chopper was believed to be on a search and rescue mission for the pilots of the Russian Su-24 jet which was downed by Turkey in Syria hours ago.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels hit the helicopter with an anti-tank missile.
The West considers the Free Syrian Army as “moderate opposition” in Syria and has supplied it with US Tow missiles among other weaponry.
In the video, two choppers are seen hovering over the area close to the site of Su-24 jet crash. The footage then shows a militant setting up, positioning and arming a TOW anti-missile rocket launcher.
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The video then switches to one of the helicopters which has landed on the ground and is shortly afterwards hit by the missile.
However, the distance and the quality of the video don’t make it possible to establish the allegiance of the helicopter.
While Russia has confirmed that one of its Mi-8 helicopters on search and rescue mission was damaged in rebel shelling, the authenticity of the video has not yet been established.
