Vladimir Putin is seething at the downing of a Russian jet over western Syria

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Syrian rebels reported that Russian forces were pounding areas in Syria's Latakia province, unleashing a wave of airstrikes on mountains near where the Su-24 warplane was shot down.

Jahed Ahmad, a spokesman for a militia brigade in the region, said the Russians were taking "revenge" for the plane's downing by Turkey, a key backer of the rebels in the area.

Speaking from inside Syria, he claimed Russian jets were providing cover for advancing Syrian ground forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies.

But Turkey's state-run news agency and Syrian activists claimed the airstrikes, on Wednesday, had hit an aid convoy, killing seven and wounding 10.