Russian aircraft shot down by Syrian missile

Russia has admitted that one of its military aircraft was shot down by a Syrian missile over the Mediterranean Sea yesterday, killing all 15 people on board. But Moscow has blamed Israel for the loss of the reconnaissance aircraft, saying it was caught in the crossfire as four Israeli fighter jets attacked targets in north-western Syria.

The type of Russian plane shot down [Photo: Kirill Naumenko/CC]

Russia’s defence ministry claimed that Israeli pilots put the Russian aircraft into the path of Syrian air defence systems in the area they were attacking. The Russians also claimed that Israel only gave them a one-minute warning of the attack, which was not enough to allow their plane to reach safety.”

“15 Russian military service people died because of Israel`s irresponsible actions,” the ministry added.

So once again, Israel is being blamed for someone else’s mistake.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli strike targeted ammunition depots on the site of the technical industries institute on the outskirts of Latakia. The site is reported to belong to government forces, but may be in use by allies of Iran.

Unusually, the Israel Defence Forces have admitted carrying out the strike and stated that the target was a Syrian military facility that manufactured “accurate and lethal weapons,” which were “about to be transferred, on behalf of Iran, to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

The transfer of weapons to Hezbollah is something that the Israelis have repeatedly said they will not accept. But they have “expressed sorrow” for the deaths of the 15 Russian soldiers killed when the aircraft was shot down.