US military personnel were not involved in the downing of Russia's Su-24 military aircraft in Syria, a Pentagon official told Sputnik on Tuesday. The Pentagon official added that Washington has a robust presence in Turkey, and is closely monitoring activities in the region. "Our Turkish Allies informed us that their military aircraft shot down a Russian military aircraft near the Syrian border after it violated Turkish airspace on Tuesday. At this time, we can confirm that US forces were not involved in this incident," the official said. A Russian Su-24 Fencer jet crashed in Syria earlier in the day with two people aboard. Ankara claims Turkish F-16s shot down the plane because it violated the country's airspace. Contrary to Ankara's accusations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the aircraft was 0.6 miles away from Turkey when it was shot down. According to the Russian leader, the crashed aircraft was not posing any threat to Turkey when it was struck by an air-to-air missile from the Turkish jet. Both pilots of the Su-24 were able to catapult, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
