Sources: Russia helped shoot down Turkish plane
Sunday Times reports that Russian technicians helped make split-second decision to fire at jet as a warning to NATO
By Times of Israel staff July 1, 2012, 7:47 am 0
ussian technicians played a key part in the shooting down of a Turkish jet near the Syrian coast late last month, sources told the Sunday Times in a story published Sunday.
The Turkish RF-4E Phantom fighter jet was on a routine surveillance run when it was shot down by Syrian gunners near Latakia. The incident sparked a serious diplomatic incident, with Turkey sending tanks and anti-aircraft weapons to the Syrian border and Damascus responding with tanks of its own.
Turkey, which admits the plane strayed just into Syrian airspace, has promised to respond and to shoot down any Syrian plane that enters its territory.
According to the Sunday Times report, the Russians and Syrians believed the plane was on a NATO mission sent to test Syria’s airspace and was shot down, in a split-second decision, to send a message to the organization.
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http://www.timesofisrael.com/sources-russia-helped-shoot-down-turkish-plane/
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