The Israeli Air Force launched their surprise night attack on Latakia in a way that put the Russian plane in harm’s way, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They must have known they were setting up the Russian plane to be hit by a Syrian counter-attack, but neither changed their approach to targets in Syria nor gave Russia enough time to move the Il-20 to a safe area.
According to the Russian military, four Israeli F-16 fighter jets attacked targets in Syria on Monday night, approaching from the Mediterranean Sea at a low altitude. The Il-20 was on patrol in the same area and was shot down by a Syrian S-200 surface-to-air missile shot in response to the Israeli attack.
“We consider these provocative actions by Israel as hostile. Fifteen Russian military service members have died because of the irresponsible actions of the Israeli military. This is absolutely contrary to the spirit of the Russian-Israeli partnership,”the statement stressed. “We reserve the right for an adequate response.”
The statement updates the death toll in the incident. Earlier the Russian military said there were 14 crew members onboard the missing Il-20. A search and rescue operation off the Syrian coast is underway.
Israel so far has not offered any public comments on the Monday night raid, which is in line with its usual policy. Israeli officials earlier acknowledged that the country’s Air Force attacked hundreds of targets in Syria, which they attributed to Iran, over the past years.
https://www.rt.com/news/438687-israel-russia-response-il20/
