RT
A Russian military Il-20 aircraft with 14 service members on
board went off the radars during an attack by four Israeli jets on
Syria’s Latakia province, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Air traffic controllers at the Khmeimim Air Base “lost contact”
with the aircraft on Monday evening, during the attack of Israeli F-16
fighters on Latakia, said the MOD. 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.
The
Ilyushin 20 (IL-20) surveillance turboprop plane is an Electronic
Intelligence (ELINT) platform, equipped with a wide range of antennas,
infrared and optical sensors. The aircraft's SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne
Radar) and the plane's satellite link allows the Russian military to
monitor Syrian skies in real time.
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...
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