Alwaght- A Russian military aircraft went off the radars on Monday evening in Syria during an aggression by four Israeli jets on the war-torn country's Latakia province, Russian Defense Ministry said.
Air traffic controllers at the Khmeimim Air Base “lost contact” with Il-20 aircraft with 14 service members on board, during the attack of Israeli F-16 fighters on Latakia, Russia today cited the ministry as saying. The plane was 35 kilometers off the coast of Syria when it vanished.
Russian radars also registered the launch of missiles from a French frigate in the Mediterranean on the evening of September 17.
Fourteen people were on board the plane at the time of the disappearance. A search and rescue mission is underway.
CNN, however, cited an unnamed US official as saying that Syrian army air defense systems have inadvertently shot down the Russian plane after the army came under attack by Israeli missiles.
The US official said Syrian army was actually trying to stop a barrage of Israeli missiles. A second official confirmed that Israeli regime was responsible for the missile strikes on Syria, CNN reported.
An hour-long attack on Latakia began around 10 pm local time, and targeted a power station as well as two facilities belonging to the Syrian military. Syrian officials said the attack was “foreign” and came “from the sea,” but could not initially confirm rumors that Israel was behind it. Seven people were injured in the attack, according to Syrian officials.
While the Russian military said it recorded four F-16 Israeli jets over Syria at the time of the attack on Latakia, the IDF has refused to comment on the report.
Despite the fact that Israeli regime rarely acknowledges striking specific targets inside Syria, earlier this month the Tel Aviv admitted to hitting over 200 targets in the country. Overall, Israeli regime has launched 792 bombs and missiles at Syria since 2017.
As Israel continues to claim the right to intrude into Syria, despite repeated condemnations from Damascus, France had said that it will join the US-led campaign to strike Syria again if there are reports of chemical weapons use.
