A Russian military chopper with five people on board has been shot down in Syria, Russia's defense ministry said.

The helicopter shot down on Sunday in the opposition-held Idlib province had three crew members and two officers on board.

The ministry was quoted as saying that it was trying to ascertain their fate.

Russia is backing the Syrian regime with military support.

Photos had circulated on social media of the "smoking wreckage of the helicopter in the deserts of Syria" after it was gunned down," said Al Jazeera's Rory Challands.

"There are [on the images] lots of people standing around this wreckage and the body of a man being dragged away with various bits of documentation and ID being displayed," he said.

"The signs were there that this would be something very sorry the Russian government would want to admit to."

PHOTO CAPTION

Men inspect the wreckage of a Russian helicopter that had been shot down in the north of Syria's opposition-held Idlib province, Syria August 1, 2016 (Reuters).

Al-Jazeera