Russia investigates, blames Israel in its plane shooting over Syria

Russia is investigating the crash of the Il-20 reconnaissance plane off the Syrian coast that killed 15 military personnel.

The Investigative Committee said Tuesday, “The main military investigation department of Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal probe into the crash of the Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea.

Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said all the circumstances and the causes of the incident are being established.

Syrian forces accidentally shot down a Russian military plane after an Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory, Kremlin officials said Tuesday.

The Russians absolved the Syrians, blaming Israel instead for the incident.

Russian officials told WFTV the Syrians were aiming at an Israeli warplane and not the Russian aircraft.

But the Israeli warplane hid behind the Russian plane, causing the missile to strike the reconnaissance plane, killing all on board.

For the Russians, this is the worst case of a rare friendly fire in the Syrian war.

The New York Times said the accident on Monday night briefly caused a crisis in Russia-Israel relations.

The Kremlin blamed the Israelis, underscoring the risks of escalation from unintended consequences among the different forces operating in Syria, said the American daily.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the downing of the Russian military plane as “a chain of tragic accidental circumstances.”

Reports said he stepped back from earlier threats of retaliation against Israel made by his defence ministry.

In 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over the Syria-Turkey border. 

Both Russia and Turkey said the Russian Su-24, an all-weather attack aircraft, was shot down by Turkish F-16s in the Turkey-Syria border area on 24 November.

The plane crashed in the mountainous Jabal Turkmen area of the Syrian province of Latakia.

The pilot, as well as a marine, sent on a rescue mission by helicopter were killed.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, Turkey said two aircraft of unknown nationality had approached Turkish airspace near the town of Yayladagi in Hatay province.

The planes were warned 10 times over the space of five minutes via an “emergency” channel and asked to change direction, and were shot.