aircraft Archives

Breaking News: US-Led Coalition Shoots Down Syrian Army Aircraft – Reports

June 18, 2017 by administrator

US-led anti-terrorist coalition has reportedly shot down a Syrian government forces’ aircraft.

Syrian Arab Army announced that the US-led anti-terrorist coalition had brought down its aircraft in southern Raqqa countryside, Syrian media reported citing a statement by the Syrian Defence Ministry.

According to the report, the Syrian jet fighter was carrying out military tasks fighting Daesh terrorist organization.

“Our aircraft was downed at lunch time today near the [Syrian] city of Raqqa, when it was fulfilling its mission against the IS,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the US-led coalition was responsible for downing the aircraft.

The ministry noted that the coalition’s “actions are aimed at halting the Syrian army and its allies in the fight against terrorism, whereas our army and allies make great progress.”

According to the ministry, the pilot of the aircraft has not been found to date.

This is not the first time the US-led coalition’s activities in Raqqa cause casualties. Syrian media reported earlier that at least 43 civilians were killed as a result of the US-led coalition airstrike in the region. The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the airstrikes and sent two letters the UN secretary general and the head of the UN Security Council, in which the coalition’s actions were compared to Daesh crimes. Just a few days later, the Lebanese media reported that the coalition’s airstrikes killed more than 30 civilians more near Raqqa.

Raqqa has been under the control of Daesh since 2013, and is the de-facto capital of the self-proclaimed Daesh caliphate. The operation to retake Raqqa, conducted by a coalition consisting of almost 70 countries, has been on-going since November 2016. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the UN Security Council or the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Terrorist State of Turkey Aircraft Violate Greek Airspace – & every neighboring countries Reports

February 9, 2016 by administrator

At least six Turkish fighter jets, flying in a single formation, violated Greek airspace, local media reported, citing military officials.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish aircraft entered Greek airspace in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea without Athens’ permission, the Ekathimerini newspaper reported Tuesday, citing country’s military authorities.

At least two of the six fighter jets were armed, the newspaper added.

Turkey does not recognize a 10-mile zone of Greek airspace surrounding islands in the Aegean Sea that are the cause of numerous similar incidents in the sky over the sea.

Pentagon claims Russia has fighter aircrafts in Syria

September 22, 2015 by administrator

In a significant increase to its new military presence in Syria, Russia sent in 24 additional fighter aircraft this past weekend to the airfield in Latakia that U.S. officials say has become a Russian air operations hub in the war-torn country.
Meanwhile, the troubled U.S. effort to train moderate Syrian rebels to fight ISIS continues as a second group of 71 fighters has entered Syria, BBC News reported.
US officials said that over the weekend Russia flew in 24 attack aircraft into Latakia, joining four fighter aircraft that arrived last Friday. That initial group of fighter aircraft are now believed to be SU-30 “Flanker” air-to-ground attack aircraft.

Twelve SU-25 “Frogfeet” and 12 SU-24 “Fencer” attack aircraft flew surreptitiously into Syria accompanying the now daily Condor cargo flights arriving in Latakia, according to a US official.

In addition, unarmed Russian drones began flying reconnaissance missions over Syria this weekend.

The flow of additional Russian military equipment continues at the airfield in the Mediterranean city that is located in a stronghold of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The number of Mi-17 and Mi-24 attack helicopters has grown to 15, nearly double the number of helicopters at the base last week, the U.S. official said.

Russia now has 36 armored personnel carriers, nine tanks and two air-defense missile systems at the airfield in Latakia, according to US officials. The ground vehicles and helicopters are consistent with the type of equipment that would presumably be needed to defend the new operations hub. It is believed that there are now more than 500 Russian military personnel operating at the airfield.

Syria investigating circumstances of downed US aircraft

March 18, 2015 by administrator

Albert Aji| Associated Press

AFP PHOTO/US AIR FORCE/MASTER SGT. ROB VALENCA

BEIRUT: A Syrian military official said Wednesday that an investigation is underway into the alleged downing of a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft by Syrian air defenses along the country’s Mediterranean coast.

A U.S. official said Tuesday that a U.S. Predator drone went down in Syria, but that it was unclear whether it was shot down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pentagon had not yet announced the loss, said U.S. officials were trying to determine why operators lost control of the drone.

The Syrian official said the aircraft entered Syrian airspace from the sea and was shot down in Ras Shamra, seven kilometers (four miles) north of the coastal city of Latakia. He said the aircraft was flying over an area devoid of “armed gangs,” using a term often used by Syrian authorities to refer to opposition groups fighting President Bashar Assad’s forces.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give statements to the press.

State television Tuesday night broadcast footage of what it said was the wreckage, including a wheel and electronic parts. Soldiers in camouflage could be seen loading some of the debris into the back of a truck.

If confirmed, it would be the first American aircraft to go down over Syria since the U.S. expanded its aerial campaign against ISIS to the country in September.

More than 220,000 people have been killed in four years of conflict in Syria, which started with largely peaceful protests calling for reforms and escalated into civil war following a brutal government crackdown.

In a statement released late Tuesday, the main Western-backed Syrian opposition group called on the United Nations to send a fact-finding mission to investigate an alleged poison gas attack on a rebel-held town in the country’s north.

The Syrian National Coalition and activists inside Syria say the government carried out a chlorine gas attack on the town of Sarmin late Monday, killing six people and leaving dozens more struggling to breathe. Syrian authorities denied the allegations.

In a statement released late Tuesday, Coalition vice president Hisham Marwa called for an on-site U.N. investigation as soon as possible. He also demanded the Security Council enforce a recent resolution that condemns the use of toxic chemicals such as chlorine in Syria and threatens military action in case of violations.

“The U.N. Security Council must take all necessary measures that ensure the enforcement of the resolution,” Marwa said.

The spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Peter Sawczak, said Wednesday the watchdog agency views “any allegations of chemical weapons use with concern and we are monitoring the situation closely.”

Monday’s purported attack would be one of the most serious uses of poison gas in Syria since a deadly chemical attack outside Damascus in August 2013.

An OPCW fact-finding mission concluded “with a high degree of confidence” that chlorine was used on three rebel-held villages in Syria last year, killing 13 people. It did not assign blame. Last month, the OPCW condemned the use of chlorine in Syria as a breach of international law.

Despite the new Security Council resolution, an international consensus on who was responsible for a violation would be needed to take any action, which would likely prove difficult. The Security Council remains divided over Syria’s civil war, with the U.S. and its allies supporting the opposition and Russia backing Syrian President Bashar Assad.