A U.S. official told [4] Reuters that the Russian jet was inside of Syria when it was shot down:
The United States believes that the Russian jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Russia denies [5] that the Russian fighter jet – which was bombing ISIS – ever entered Turkish air space, and has put out its own map [6] purporting to prove that claim.
The Russian jet pilots who parachutted free of their burning plane were then purportedly killed by Turkish rebels [7] inside Syria. If true, this is a war crime.
Then – when a Russian helicopter tried to save the pilots – it was shot down by American-backed Syrian rebels [8] – using weapons provided to them by the United States [9] – and a Russian marine was killed [10].
Russia is deploying a warship off the Syrian coast to “destroy any threats [11] to Russian planes”. Many believe [12] this is the start of World War III. [13]
While the U.S. and NATO tried to blame Russia, German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel slammed [14] Turkey:
“This incident shows for the first time that we are to dealing with an actor who is unpredictable according to statements from various parts of the region – that is not Russia, that is Turkey,” Gabriel said, as cited by DPA news agency. He added that Turkey was playing “a complicated role” in the Syrian conflict.
Indeed, NATO-member Turkey is MASSIVELY supporting ISIS [15], provided chemical weapons [16] used in the jihadi’s massacre of civilians, and has been bombing ISIS’ main on-the-ground enemy – Kurdish soldiers – using its air force [17]. And some of the Turkish people are also unsympathetic to the victims [18] of ISIS terrorism.
Turkey was also instrumental in the creation of ISIS. An internal Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) document produced recently shows, the U.S. knew that the actions of “the West, Gulf countries and Turkey” in Syria might create a terrorist group like ISIS and an Islamic CALIPHATE [19].
As the former DIA head explained [20]:
It was a willful decision [by Turkey, the West and the Gulf states] to … support an insurgency that had salafists, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood ….