Russia says Israel used 2 civilian airliners as cover to carry out Syria strike
Opposition-linked Syrian war monitor claims 9 killed in alleged strike that targeted several Iranian positions, including a communication tower, near T4 airbase east of Palmyra
A Russian general on Thursday said that Syrian air defenses did not engage Israeli jets that reportedly carried out a strike in central Syria because there were two civilian airliners in the air at the time.
A Britain-based war monitor said the alleged Israeli airstrike in central Syria killed nine pro-government fighters, four of them Syrians and five of undetermined nationality.
Syrian Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit told the Sputnik news site that the strike was carried out by four Israeli F-16 jets.
“The Syrian military leadership decided not to use air defense systems since at the time of the Israeli aviation attack, two civilian passenger aircraft were in the zone of destruction of the anti-aircraft systems,” Kulit said.
Russia has repeatedly accused Israel of using civilian aircraft as a “shield” against Syrian air defenses, amid lingering anger over a case in 2018, when the Syrian military shot down a Russian spy plane while responding to an Israeli strike over Syrian airspace.
Russia later declared that Israel was responsible for that incident, in which 15 crew members were killed, saying the Israel Air Force jets used the Russian plane as cover.
In that case, the Israeli military flatly denied the allegation that IDF jets had used the spy plane as shield, and defense analysts also cast doubts on the feasibility of such a maneuver.
Adapted from: Russia says Israel used 2 civilian airliners as cover to carry out Syria strike | The Times of Israel
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