Russian chopper shot down near Aleppo

Five Russian service members died today after their helicopter crashed at the end of an aid mission to the besieged city of Aleppo. According to Russian state television, ground fire brought down the Mi-8 helicopter as it returned to base in Idlib province. Rebel forces and Russian-backed government fighters are locked in a fierce fight for Aleppo, which the government has long cut off from outside access. The city has become one of the worst humanitarian crises of the five-year civil war, with food and medical care in short supply. As many as 300,000 people remain trapped in rebel-held parts of the city, despite the government’s claim to have opened humanitarian corridors for aid convoys. Over the weekend, 169 civilians fled the city, but most are afraid to leave because of what government forces might do to them. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has warned the humanitarian corridors could be a “ruse.”