Russia blames Israel for Latakia incident over Syria

Russian Ministry of Defence has accused Israel of ‘deliberate and hostile provocation’ after a Russian maritime reconnaissance plane was shot down over Syria. The Ilyushin Il-20 was preparing to land at Russia’s Hmeimim airbase near the north-western city of Latakia, when Israeli fighters allegedly used it as a cover to launch a missile attack on Syrian targets. According to sources, this brought the Il-20 into the line of fire of anti-aircraft missiles deployed by Syrian Air Defence.

The reconnaissance aircraft went off the radar at 2000h GMT on Monday, about 35 km from the Syrian coast.

"By using the Russian plane as cover, the Israeli air pilots made it vulnerable to Syrian air defense fire. As a result, the Ilyushin-20, its reflective surface being far greater than that of the F-16, was downed by a missile launched with the S-200 system," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov told the media on Tuesday.

Pointing towards the alleged role of France in the ‘coordinated’ strike, it was noted that at the time of the attack by Israeli planes, Russian air control radar systems detected missile launches from “the French frigate Auvergne which was located in that region."

Russian defence sources also noted that Israel notified the Russian command only one minute before the launch of the attack. Moscow in a stern warning to Israel said that it reserves the right to retaliate against this “dangerous provocation”.

A search and rescue (SAR) operation is ongoing for 15 Russian air-men who were onboard the aircraft.

Israel has been involved in various covert and overt air strikes inside Syria. Tel Aviv alleged that its operations are to “counter Iranian forces in Syria”. On September 15, Israeli fighter jets targeted the Damascus International Airport with missiles, many of which were intercepted by Syrian Air Defence batteries.

The attack comes in the backdrop of Syrian government forces fighting the final battle in the five year old war. Idlib is the last area under the control of Western backed rebel forces, home to some of the radical Islamist groups such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (also known as Al-Nusra).

On Monday, Russia and Turkey had agreed to set up a 15km to 25km wide demilitarised zone, which would come into force by 15 October, to separate the government and rebel forces. It was also agreed that Russian and Turkish troops would patrol this area.

The demilitarized zone would require rebel forces to withdraw all their heavy weapons from the area. Radical groups such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham would also have to withdraw from the area by October 15.