A Russian military aircraft carrying 14 service members disappeared off the Syrian coast on Monday as Israeli fighter jets were attacking targets in the area and a French ship was launching missiles, Russian news agencies reported, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Defense Ministry said that the Il-20 surveillance plane disappeared from radar screens Monday night when it was 22 miles from the Mediterranean coast.
The aircraft had been returning to a Russian air base near the Syrian port city of Latakia, and the Defense Ministry said it had organized a search-and-rescue operation.
"The Il-20 disappeared from air traffic control radars during an attack by four Israeli F-16 planes on Syrian facilities in the Latakia governorate," the Defense Ministry said, according to the news agency Interfax.
"At the same time, Russian air traffic control radars recorded launches of missiles from the French frigate Auvergne that was in this area."
The disappearance came the same day that the Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, said that Syria would refrain from launching an offensive on Idlib Province, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.
Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the United States Central Command, referred questions on the episode to the Russian Defense Ministry.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/world/middleeast/syria-russian-plane.html
The Defense Ministry said that the Il-20 surveillance plane disappeared from radar screens Monday night when it was 22 miles from the Mediterranean coast.
The aircraft had been returning to a Russian air base near the Syrian port city of Latakia, and the Defense Ministry said it had organized a search-and-rescue operation.
"The Il-20 disappeared from air traffic control radars during an attack by four Israeli F-16 planes on Syrian facilities in the Latakia governorate," the Defense Ministry said, according to the news agency Interfax.
"At the same time, Russian air traffic control radars recorded launches of missiles from the French frigate Auvergne that was in this area."
The disappearance came the same day that the Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, said that Syria would refrain from launching an offensive on Idlib Province, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.
Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the United States Central Command, referred questions on the episode to the Russian Defense Ministry.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/world/middleeast/syria-russian-plane.html
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