Tragedy With Russia's Il-20 Downed In Syria To Require Explanations From Israel - Moscow

The tragedy with Russia's Il-20 military aircraft shot down in Syria will require additional investigations and explanations from Israel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) The tragedy with Russia's Il-20 military aircraft shot down in Syria will require additional investigations and explanations from Israel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said contact with Russia's Il-20 returning to the Hmeimim airbase was lost late on September 17. The ministry said that around that time four Israeli F-16 fighters attacked Syrian targets in Latakia. It said that Israeli pilots put the Russian aircraft under the attack of Syria's air defenses, and the Il-20 was shot down by an S-200 missile. Fifteen Russian servicemen were killed.

The Defense Ministry said Israeli aircraft deliberately created a dangerous situation in Latakia.

Israel had not warned the command of the Russian group of troops in Syria about the planned operation in the area. The Russian military said it regards Israel's provocative actions as hostile and reserves the right to a proper response.

"The tragedy that took place on September 17 will require additional investigations and explanations from the Israeli side, and I am confident that they will follow in the very near future," Zakharova said at a briefing.

"For my part, I believe that the Israeli pilots, as a result of whose actions a threat was created and the Russian aircraft was destroyed, acted at least unprofessionally," she said.