Istanbul: A Syrian air force pilot who bailed out as his warplane crashed on Turkish territory has told Turkish authorities his aircraft was shot down on its way to strike rural areas near Idlib, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.

The 56-year-old pilot, identified by Associated Press as Muhammad Sufhan, was found by a Turkish rescue team after a nine-hour search and was being treated at a hospital in the Hatay region. He said his MiG-23 had taken off from Latakia in Syria. He parachuted before the jet crashed.

The Dogan news agency said the pilot, who crashed his plane on Sunday, had been found around 40 kilometres from the wreckage. He was first taken to a gendarmerie base and then to hospital.

The hospital spokeswoman gave no details of his condition.