ISRAEL STRIKE POSED RISK TO RUSSIAN JET

Moscow: Russia’s Defense Ministry said that a passenger jetliner in Syria was endangered by Israeli fighter jets that used it as shield while striking the suburbs of Damascus the previous day.

The allegation comes as tensions run high in Syria, where fighting has escalated in the northern province of Idlib.

Syrian government forces, backed by the Russian military, have clashed with Turkish troops that support the opposition there after failing to observe a cease-fire.

A spokesman for the Israeli prime minister did not respond to a request for comment. Israel rarely acknowledges strikes carried out in Syria.

Israel has repeatedly struck Syrian and Iran-linked targets in Syria in recent years and has vowed to push back against increasing Iranian influence in its neighboring country.

The news of the alleged nearmiss came amid jitters just a month after a Ukrainian passenger plane crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.