Russian military plane with 14 on board disappears during Israeli strikes on Latakia
A dispatch from RT.com
The French Frigate Auvergne: now disgraced by an act of wanton criminality. Russian airspace control systems have registered missile launches from a French frigate in the Mediterranean on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. The French Navy’s newest frigate, FS Auvergne, fired rockets around 8pm GMT Monday, the Russian military said. “Airspace control has recorded rocket launches from the French frigate Auvergne,” the ministry’s statement read. The Auvergne is deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Syria.
Published time: 17 Sep, 2018 22:42Edited time: 18 Sep, 2018
Russian military plane with 14 on board disappears during Israeli strikes on Latakia
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.
to hitting at least 202 “Iranian targets” in the country. Overall, Israel has launched 792 bombs and missiles at Syria since 2017, arguing the strikes were necessary to prevent Iran from setting up bases in the country in order to stage attacks against the Jewish state.
As Israel continues to claim the right to intrude into Syria, despite repeated condemnations from Damascus, France had said that it will join the US-led campaign to strike Syria again if there are reports of chemical weapons use.
Over the last few weeks, Moscow has been beating drums about the false-flag chemical attack that is being prepared by the notorious White Helmets and jihadists in Idlib province in order to frame government forces. Such a provocation, the Russian military argues, will be used to trigger a US-led attack against Damascus.
The attack on Latakia came just hours after Russia and Turkey negotiated a partial demilitarization of the Idlib province, which is the last remaining stronghold of anti-government militants, including the Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (also known as the Jabhat Al-Nusra).
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