Russia sustains its greatest loss in Syrian conflict as helicopter is shot down with five aboard

Reporting from BEIRUT —  Syrian rebels in northern Syria shot down a Russian helicopter on Monday, Russian officials and Syrian activists said, killing five people in what is considered the largest loss sustained by Russian forces since entering the conflict in September.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said an Mi-8 transport helicopter was “shot down by ground fire in Idlib province,” in northeast Syria, “after a delivery of humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo.”

There were three crew members and two officers on board, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“Those who were in the helicopter have died,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said in televised remarks. “Died heroically, because they tried to take the vehicle away to minimize the victims on the ground.”

The state-run Rossiya 24 channel called the crash the single largest loss of Russian servicemen in Syria since Moscow started its military operation on Sept. 30. The total Russian death toll over the past 10 months has reached 19, it said.

Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, chief of Russia’s General Staff, said in a statement that the helicopter was “shot down over the area controlled by ... the Nusra Front and the squads of the so-called ‘moderate opposition.’”

Idlib province was taken over in March by a loose alliance of hard-line Islamist rebels, including the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. Last week, the group changed its name to the Front for the Conquest of Syria and disassociated itself from Al Qaeda, in what was seen as a bid to increase cohesion among fractious rebel organizations.

Rudskoy described the attack as an act of terrorism on a helicopter that was “returning after a humanitarian mission to deliver food and medicine to the residents of Aleppo.”

Videos taken by activists in the immediate aftermath of the crash show crowds, including armed men, gathered around corpses in military uniforms. The remains of a helicopter smolder nearby.

“Barbecued, barbecued, this pig,” says one onlooker, while others celebrate as they begin to drag a body.

One video depicts a man stepping on the body of one of the crew members.

Another video appeared to show that the helicopter was armed with a rocket launcher, which, opposition activists said, contradicted Moscow’s statement that it was on a humanitarian mission.

No rebel group has thus far claimed responsibility.

Russia, a staunch backer of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has launched hundreds of airstrikes against opposition-held areas, including those in Idlib province.

The opposition contends Russia’s warplanes have targeted critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools without regard for civilians.

In July, Moscow announced the opening of humanitarian corridors leading out of the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo for civilians and opposition militants who wish to surrender. Russian helicopters have also conducted aid drops there.

It is unclear how many have taken advantage of the passageways, however. The government says at least 169 people have left, while the opposition insists it is much less, and disputes that the passageways are even open.

Fighting has continued around Aleppo as rebels launched another offensive late Sunday to break the government’s siege in the area.

Bulos is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Mansur Mirovalev in Kaliningrad, Russia, contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

1:35 p.m.: Updated throughout with Russian statements, background.

5:05 a.m.: Updated with staff reporting.

4:10 a.m.: This article was updated to reflect that five people were killed and include quotes from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman.

This article was originally posted at 3:50 a.m.