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Two Russian pilots have died in a helicopter crash over rebel territory in Syria .
A spokesperson for Russia’s ministry of defence said the Mi-28N attack helicopter came down in Homs province in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“The bodies of the dead pilots were removed during search and rescue operations and are currently at the Hmeymim Airbase,” he added.
The helicopter icon shows the reported location of the Russian helicopter crash. Rebel-held territory is shown in green and regime areas in red. (Liveuamap) “According to a report from the crash site, the helicopter was not shot down.”
Activists put the location of the wreckage in rebel-held territory outside of Homs city, where Russian air strikes have recently been reported.
Local opposition groups, al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamist group Ahrar ash-Sham are known to be active in the area.
The pilots’ deaths bring the number of Russian servicemen killed in Syria since the country’s intervention started in September to at least eight.
In pictures: Russian air strikes in SyriaShow all 19 1 /19In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria
In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria
In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit
In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria
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In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed
In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria
In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit
In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria
In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps
© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis
A special forces officer died during battles to drive Isis out of Palmyra last month and the Kremlin had previously acknowledged five deaths, including the pilot of a fighter jet shot down by Turkey and a marine killed by rebels during a mission to rescue him.
Two others were killed in mortar attacks and bombardment, while a 19-year-old soldier died in disputed circumstances at his air base in Latakia.
The United Nations, humanitarian organisations and international politicians have raised concern about the death of civilians and opposition fighters in Russian air strikes, but the Kremlin insists it has been targeting Isis and terrorist groups.
Russian jets are currently supporting troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad, along with allies from Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, in an advances on the so-called Islamic State and rebels.
A fragile "cessation of hostilities" that started between rebels and the regime in February excludes Isis and Jabhat al-Nusra, allowing Syrian operations and international air strikes on militants to continue.
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