Turkey mourns pilots of downed jet
- 12 years ago
The funeral of airforce captain Gokhan Ertan - one of the pilots killed in Syria's downing of a Turkish jet two weeks ago - is held on Friday.
Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan and chief of general staff Necdet Ozel were amongst those praying for the 30-year old airman.
Earlier Erdogan and Ozel together with the pilots families attended a military ceremony at the airbase where the jets had taken off from on June 22.
Relations between Ankara and Damascus have hit a new low since the incident.
Syria says it downed the plane in self-defence when it was within Syrian airspace.
Turkey says the plane accidentally violated Syrian airspace briefly but was brought down in international airspace.
Ankara has said the shooting would not go unpunished but both countries say they want to avoid an armed conflict.
The funeral of the second airman was due to be held in Istanbul later on Friday.
Sunita Rappai Reuters
Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan and chief of general staff Necdet Ozel were amongst those praying for the 30-year old airman.
Earlier Erdogan and Ozel together with the pilots families attended a military ceremony at the airbase where the jets had taken off from on June 22.
Relations between Ankara and Damascus have hit a new low since the incident.
Syria says it downed the plane in self-defence when it was within Syrian airspace.
Turkey says the plane accidentally violated Syrian airspace briefly but was brought down in international airspace.
Ankara has said the shooting would not go unpunished but both countries say they want to avoid an armed conflict.
The funeral of the second airman was due to be held in Istanbul later on Friday.
Sunita Rappai Reuters