Azerbaijan says two Armenian warplanes crashed, dismisses downing allegation

An aide to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday that two Armenian Su-25 fighter jets were destroyed on Sept. 29 after crashing into a mountain, and accused Yerevan of lying about one of its planes being shot down. "Both planes crashed into a mountain and exploded and were destroyed.

An aide to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday that two Armenian Su-25 fighter jets were destroyed on Sept. 29 after crashing into a mountain, and accused Yerevan of lying about one of its planes being shot down. Armenia posted pictures earlier of the wreckage of a plane it said was a SU-25 warplane shot down by a Turkish fighter jet on Tuesday. It named the pilot as Major Valeri Danelin.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied the plane was shot down. "Both planes crashed into a mountain and exploded and were destroyed. This shows the Armenian military leadership is not providing accurate information to its citizens and the public," presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev said.