Syrian special forces launched an operation "behind enemy lines" to rescue the surviving crew member of a Russian warplane downed by Turkey, Syria's Al-Watan newspaper reported on Thursday.
"Eleven members of an elite unit of the air force intelligence service and a (Russian-language) translator, led by an officer, infiltrated 3.5 kilometres (two miles) behind enemy lines in the Al-Atira region on Tuesday and recovered the airman," the pro-government newspaper said.
If we had to rescue American or coalition aircraft crew down in enemy territory, we'd need Air Force rescue troops, helicopters/V-22s, slow moving combat aircraft, and other special forces and regular troops in reserve in case it gets sticky on the ground.
I hope I'm not assuming too much. After all, I'm a bit surprised that Russia didn't have their own forces in Syria capable of carrying out this mission.
