AKIPRESS.COM - A Russian helicopter was shot down Monday after delivering aid to the Syrian city of Aleppo, killing all five people on board, Russian state media reported.

It was the biggest single loss of life for Russia in Syria since Russian warplanes started carrying out airstrikes in September 2015 in the country ravaged by war for five years.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by ground fire in Idlib province as it returned to base, state TV reported.

"Those who were aboard the helicopter, according to information from the Defense Ministry, have died heroically because they were attempting to steer the machine to minimize the casualties on the ground," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state-run Sputnik news agency.

Video footage showed dozens of men cheering around the flaming wreckage, some of them taking photographs with their phones and others yelling, "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").

An empty rocket pod lay next to the wreckage, raising questions about whether the helicopter was carrying aid.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the downing, and Russia hasn't indicated who might be behind it, CNN reports.