ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of shooting down a Russian jet Tuesday, in which at least one pilot was killed.



“This incident stands out against the usual fight against terrorism,” Russia’s official RT television quoted Putin as saying on its website. “Our troops are fighting heroically against terrorists, risking their lives. But the loss we suffered today came from a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists.”



Putin dismissed Turkish claims that the Russian plane had violated Turkish airspace. Ankara said the pilot had not responded to warnings.



But Putin accused Turkey of acting in the interests of the Islamic State (ISIS) group, accusing the NATO ally of being more interested in the money to be made in dealing with the militants than to fight the war against. He added that Moscow has long known about Ankara’s economic ties to ISIS, which is also known as IS.



“IS has big money, hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, from selling oil. In addition they are protected by the military of an entire nation,” Putin said, pointing at Turkey without naming it.



“One can understand why they are acting so boldly and blatantly. Why they kill people in such atrocious ways. Why they commit terrorist acts across the world, including in the heart of Europe,” RT quoted the Russian leader as saying.



Meanwhile, in a meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan Tuesday, Putin said the plane was shot down over Syria.



“Our plane was downed over Syrian territory by an air-to-air missile from a Turkish F16. It crashed inside Syria, 4 kilometers from the Turkish border," Putin was reported as saying.



"At the time it was engaged it was at 6,000 meters altitude and one kilometer from the Turkish border. In any case our pilots never threatened the territory of Turkey. This is obvious," Putin said.



He warned that the incident would tarnish Moscow’s relations with Ankara.



Footage from Turkish media outlets, including Anadolu Agency, appears to show the aircraft crashing in a place known as “Turkmen Mountain” in northern Syria. Two pilots can be seen parachuting from the fiery plane before it crashed.



RT said that one pilot was killed and the fate of the other remained unknown.



A Syrian rebel group has claimed to have captured the other aviator. Two videos were released separately Tuesday morning from different Syrian rebel groups each claiming to have the pilots in custody.