Syria shoots down Russian plane during Israeli airstrike, Putin laments 'chain of tragic accidental circumstances'
Beirut, Lebanon - 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 late on Monday was the worst case of friendly fire between the two allies since Russia's game-changing military intervention in September 2015.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said a 'chain of tragic accidental circumstances' led to the downing of the warplane. "It rather looks like a chain of tragic accidental circumstances," he told reporters on Tuesday, rejecting any comparisons with the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey in 2015.
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 air war sequence started when Israeli missiles struck 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 Shiite group Hezbollah.
It expressed "sorrow" for the Russian deaths, but insisted the Russian plane had been felled by "extensive and inaccurate Syrian anti-aircraft fire.”
The plane downed by Syria's Russian-made S-200 air defence had a crew of 15, who were all killed, Moscow said. The Russian military claimed Israeli pilots had attacked Syrian targets by using "the Russian plane as a cover, exposing it to fire from Syrian air defences".
But Israel denied the accusations, saying that "when the Syrian army launched the missiles that hit the Russian plane, Israeli jets were already within Israeli airspace."
The Russian government stressed that the incident would have no impact on the fledging Idlib deal, but warned Israel of reprisals and summoned its envoy in Moscow.
Moscow had earlier said rockets were fired from a French frigate positioned in the same area of the Mediterranean. But the French military denied any involvement, with spokesman Col Patrik Steiger saying the frigate Auvergne "did not fire anything last night".
Israel has conducted frequent raids in recent months against Syria's military infrastructure, including against bases it believes host Iranian combatants. Israel has admitted to carrying out 200 strikes in Syria over the past 18 months.