New video leaked of Russian Su-25 shot down in Syria

Image cut from video believed to show rebel attack on Russian plane. Photo: RT

According toSputnik, two videos byDirectorate 4, a channel specializing in monitoring terrorist activities, recently posted. Previously, Directorate 4 also released a video that is said to have recorded a gunfight between the pilot of the downed Su-25 and the rebels right after the pilot parachuted out of the crashed plane.

The first video shows the rebels firing at the Russian plane from a heavy machine gun mounted on a pickup truck. It also shows what is believed to be the moment the Russian Su-25 was hit by fire from what the Russian military suspects was a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile. The rebels can be heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” in the video.

Meanwhile, the second video recorded an interview between Northern Syria Observer, an organization that calls itself a coalition of independent journalists in Syria, and Mahmoud Haj Ismail - a gunman from the Jaysh Idlib Hur rebel group.

In the interview, Ismail said that the Jaysh Idlib Hur rebel group shot down the Russian Su-25, but the weapon they used was not a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile but a Zu-23-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. The gunman also revealed that this was the fifth aircraft the rebel group had shot down, following a helicopter, two fighter jets and an Ilyushin aircraft.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet announced the authenticity of these two videos. Previously, Directorate 4 also released a video showing a group of rebels chasing Major Roman Filipov, pilot of a Russian Su-25. Filipov engaged in a gunfight with the rebels before detonating a grenade and committing suicide to escape capture.

In addition to Jaysh Idlib Hur, the Tahrir al-Sham rebel group linked to the Nusra Front terrorist organization - al-Qaeda's branch in Syria - also claimed responsibility for the attack on the Russian plane.