Russian military helicopter shot down in Syria, killing five

A Russian military helicopter with five people on board was shot down Monday over the Syrian province of Idlib, the Russian defence ministry said.

"A Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down from the ground after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo," the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

"Three crew members and two officers... were on board," it said, indicating that their fate was unclear.

It has now been confirmed that all those onboard are dead. 

Russia's airforce has been supporting the Syrian regime during the five-year war and have broadly been accused of targeting civilian areas. 

Around 40 km north-east of the crash site, rebel groups are staging an offensive to break a government siege on rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo city.

Pro-government forces on the ground are being supported by heavy airstrikes in the area.