SYRIA DOWNS RUSSIAN PLANE DURING ISRAELI AIR STRIKE

BEIRUT: Syria accidentally shot down a Russian military aircraft, killing all 15 crew members, when its air defences swung into action against an Israeli missile strike, Russian and Israeli forces said on Tuesday.

The incident on Monday was the most deadly known case of friendly fire between Syria and its key backer Russia since Moscow’s 2015 military intervention in the war-torn country. Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was the result of “tragic accidental circumstances”.

The Russian Ilyushin dropped off the radar over the Mediterranean moments after Turkey and Russia announced a deal that offered millions of people reprieve from a threatened military assault in northern Syria.

There was no immediate word from Damascus, but the deadly chain of events started when Israeli missiles struck the coastal region of Latakia on Monday.

Israel confirmed that it had targeted a Syrian military facility where weapons manufacturing systems were “about to be transferred on behalf of Iran” to Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.

It expressed “sorrow” for the Russian deaths, but insisted the Russian plane had been felled by “extensive and inaccurate Syrian anti-aircraft (surface-to-air missile) fire”.

The Russian military accused Israeli pilots of using “the Russian plane as a cover, exposing it to fire from Syrian air defences”.

Israel denied the accusations, saying its jets were already back in Israeli airspace when Syrian forces launched the missiles.