15 Russians Killed in a Military Aircraft shot down by Syrian Air defense.
Russia Blasts Israel: You’re to Blame for 15 Russians Killed During Syria Strike. Russia blames downed military aircraft on Israel’s ‘deliberate provocations’ striking Syria. France denies involvement, U.S. says plane shot down by Syrian air defense systems
Russian Military Aircraft with 14 onboard shot down by Syrian air defense
The Russian reconnaissance plane disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft defense, the Russian army said Tuesday, holding Israel responsible for “hostile” strikes on Syria and threatening to retaliate.
Il-20 “shot down by Syrian army S-200 missile system Monday around 19:00 GMT, killing 15 crew members, Russian ministry said of the Defense, quoted by the Russian agencies.
Russian military spokesman Igor Konachenkov, however, accused Israel of being responsible for the incident by carrying out an armed operation against Latakia, the stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, without warning Russia.
“We consider hostile these provocations from Israel” and “we reserve the right to respond adequately,” he warned.
According to Igor Konachenkov, the Israeli command “did not warn” of this operation and announced it in Moscow less than a minute before the attack, “not allowing to bring the Il-20 to a zone safe”.
He also accused the Israeli F-16 pilots of deliberately endangering the Russian reconnaissance aircraft by camouflaging themselves in the radar signal of the Russian plane and placing it “under the blaze of Syrian anti-aircraft defense.”
“Israeli planes deliberately created a dangerous situation for the surface ships and planes that were in the area. The bombing took place near where the French frigate Auvergne was and in the immediate vicinity of the -20 “, he continued.
Russian Defence Ministry: Russian Ilyushin Il-20 plane was downed by Syrian Air Defence missile after Israeli F-16 pilots used it as cover thus setting it up to be targeted by AA defence. Such actions can only be classified as a deliberate provocation https://t.co/qBcqPz2en6 pic.twitter.com/21mTTNXmpd
— Russian Embassy in South Africa 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) September 18, 2018
The Ilyushin-20, a four-engine propeller generally used for surveillance missions, disappeared from radar on Monday night 35 kilometers from the Syrian coast during an air attack by four Israeli F-16s on infrastructure in the Syrian province of Latakia.
Furthermore, Search operations continue, assured the Russian army.
