Russian blames Israeli ‘negligence’ for downing of jet

RUSSIA’S military yesterday blamed “misleading” information from the Israeli air force for the loss of one of its planes in Syria last week, denouncing the “unprofessionalism or criminal negligence” of Israeli pilots.

A Syrian air defence missile shot down the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 military plane on Sept 17, killing all 15 soldiers on board. It threatened relations between Russia and Israel, which have a hotline to avoid accidental clashes in Syria.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, appeared to want to move on from the incident despite the Russian military’s strong words.

It was the worst case of “friendly fire” between Syria and Russia, its key supporter, since Moscow’s 2015 military intervention. Igor Konashenkov, Russia’s military spokesman, said Israel did warn it would strike “north of Syria”, but as Russia ordered the plane back to base the planes struck, prompting the accidental Syrian response. Israel apologised and said it was targeting a Syrian military facility with links to Iran.