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A Russian helicopter was shot down in Syria, killing 5

Russia said the five passengers on board the aircraft are dead, marking the most deaths at once for Russian forces in Syria since the air campaign began last year.
Photo via Thiqa Agency/YouTube

Five people are dead after a Russian helicopter was taken out by ground fire near Aleppo on Monday, the deadliest single incident for Russian forces in Syria since they began their campaign last year in support of the Assad regime.

The Russian government said everybody on the Mi-8 transport helicopter was killed — three officers and two crew members, the Associated Press reported. The aircraft had taken off from Aleppo, where it had landed to bring humanitarian aid to the city, which is under siege by the Russian-backed Syrian army.

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Video from the Idlib province, located west of Aleppo, shows bystanders gathering at the site of the crash in the countryside on the edge of the town of Saraqib. A crowd of men can be seen circling around the helicopter, which is engulfed in flames, with some taking video of the crash and others picking up items from the site.

The helicopter was heading back for an air bases along the western coast of Syria, where Russia has based dozens of fighter-bomber jets and helicopters it has been using to back up government forces, by bombing rebel groups and the islamic State group's territory. Russia has been accused by human rights organizations of indiscriminate bombing that has killed thousands of Syrian civilians.

Hundreds of thousands of people are sequestered in rebel-controlled areas in eastern Aleppo and running low on necessities like food, as government forces surround that part of the city. A group of rebel factions have reportedly started to push back, kicking off what they say could be a days-long offensive in western areas under government control, reported Al Jazeera. The military said it fended off the rebels.