Russia military jet vanishes from radar off Syria with 14 aboard

A Russian military aircraft with 14 people on board vanished from radar over the Mediterranean Sea, as Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian positions, Russia’s defence ministry said.

The fate of those on board is still unclear, but a US official told CNN that Syrian government forces had mistakenly shot down the Il-20 plane during the Israeli attack.

“The trace of the Il-20 on flight control radars disappeared during an attack by four Israeli F-16 jets on Syrian facilities in Latakia province,” TASS news agency quoted the ministry as saying in the statement. 

An Israeli military spokeswoman when asked about both the reported Israeli strike and the Russian plane said: “We don’t comment on foreign reports.”

Moscow’s RT network reported that Russian military forces had registered the launch of missiles from a French frigate in the Mediterranean around around the time the plane lost contact.

“The French army denies any involvement in this attack,” a French army spokesman said.

The reconnaissance aircraft was on its way to the Khmeimim airbase and was about 35km from the Syrian coast when it disappeared, the Russian defence ministry said.

Around the time the plane disappeared, the Syrian coastal city of Latakia – near the Russian airbase to which the Il-20 was returning – came under attack from “enemy missiles”, and missile defence batteries responded, Syrian state media reported.

A Pentagon spokesman said the US was not involved and declined to provide further details.

“The missiles were not fired by the US military and we have nothing further at this time,” he said. 

Russia intervened in the Syrian conflict to prop up the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2015.

Moscow has previously lost aircraft during its Syria campaign.

In November 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, triggering a diplomatic spat between Ankara and Moscow.

In 2016, a Russian Ministry of Defence Tu-154, carrying 92 people and also on its way to Khmeimim, crashed shortly after taking off from Sochi airport, killing all on board.

In February this year, Syrian rebels shot down a Sukhoi 25 jet over Idlib province.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies