A RUSSIAN pilot who ejected from his fighter jet after it was shot down in northwestern Syria has been killed after landing alive on the ground, according to a Syrian human rights monitoring group.

“Rebel factions shot down a Sukhoi 25,” confirmed Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“The Russian pilot came down in a parachute, before being captured,” confirmed Mr Rahman.

He could not immediately confirm which faction had downed the plane but hard line opposition groups and the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are active in Idlib.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

A Syrian militant in the area told the Associated Press that the Russian pilot was shot and killed when he resisted capture by opening fire from his pistol on the militants who tried to capture him alive.

Moscow has not confirmed the downing of its plane or the killing of a pilot.

The militant refused to be identified by his real name because was not authorised to speak to the media.

Video of the jet being shot down has been posted online.

Syrian troops launched a fierce offensive on Idlib in late December, with backing by Russian warplanes.

Opposition factions have shot at Syrian regime planes in the past, but downing Russian warplanes is much rarer.

Moscow began conducting air strikes in Syria in September 2015.