US expresses 'sorrow' over downing of Russian aircraft in Syria

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed sorrow Tuesday for the downing by Syria of a Russian warplane with 15 people on board, saying it underscored an urgent need to resolve the Syria conflict.

According to Russian and Israeli forces, the Syrian regime accidentally shot down the Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance plane off the Syria coast late Monday.

It was the worst case of friendly fire between Moscow and Damascus since Russia's game-changing military intervention in September 2015.

"The United States expresses sorrow for the death of the aircrew members of the Russian plane that was downed by Syrian regime anti-aircraft fire," Pompeo said in a statement.

It "reminds us of the need to find permanent, peaceful, and political resolutions to the many overlapping conflicts in the region and the danger of tragic miscalculation in Syria's crowded theater of operations."