Israeli airstrike on Damascus endangered civilian flight with 172 passengers on board – Russian Defense Ministry
by RT
Israeli airstrike on Damascus endangered civilian flight with 172 passengers on board – Russian Defense Ministry
A surprise Israeli strike against Damascus suburbs early Thursday activated Syrian air defenses and put a civilian aircraft in serious danger, forcing it to divert to a Russian airbase in Khmeimim, Russian Defense Ministry said.
The civil Airbus-320 was forced to make the emergency landing on Thursday following an Israeli missile attack on targets in a suburb of Damascus, the ministry said, adding that it had become a “common practice” for Israeli pilots to use civilian aircraft to “shield” themselves from Syria’s air defenses.
The aircraft tried to land at the Damascus International Airport, but was unable to do so amid the surprise attack, which featured some eight air-to-surface missiles fired from four Israeli F-16s outside of Syrian airspace. The country’s air defense systems were engaged during the incident, which took place around 2am local time.
Tel Aviv is perfectly aware of civilian flight routes and air activity around Damascus, day and night, and such reckless missions prove that Israeli strategists could not care less about possible civilian casualties, Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov argued.
“Only due to timely actions of the Damascus airport dispatchers and the efficient operation of the automated air traffic control system, the Airbus-320 managed to… successfully land at the closest alternative airfield,” Konashenkov added.
That was not the first time Israeli fighter jets have endangered civilian craft over Syria, with Moscow criticizing Tel Aviv for putting two passenger flights in danger during an air raid in 2018. Israel has flown hundreds of similar bombing raids on Syria throughout the country’s civil war, claiming to be hitting “legitimate Iranian targets.”
