A Syrian group said on Thursday it had the bodies of five people shot down in a Russian helicopter and demanded the release of prisoners in exchange for the corpses. Men inspect the wreckage of a Russian helicopter that had been shot down in the north of Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, Syria August 1, 2016. It wanted the release of prisoners held in Syrian government jails and by Damascus's Lebanese Shi'ite ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Russian military helicopter was downed in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province on Monday, killing all five people on board in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria. Russia has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with an air campaign against insurgents since September.

Source: Thanhnien News August 04, 2016 19:41 UTC