[IsraelTimes] 14 servicemen aboard plane which went missing over Mediterranean; Syria claims 2 killed after Israel fires missiles from Lebanese airspace toward chemical weapons-linked facilityA Russian military plane with 14 servicemen aboard was accidentally shot down by Syrian air defenses as they tried to repel an alleged Israeli strike on Monday, a US official told CNN.
The official added that the plane was downed by a Russian-made missile system which was sold to Syria.
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According to TASS, the ministry of defense said "the mark of IL-20 went off the radars disappeared during the attack of four Israeli F-16 aircraft on Syrian targets in the province of Latakia."
Israel does not regularly comment on alleged strikes in Syria.
A Syrian facility linked to the country’s chemical weapons program was bombed on Monday night, triggering Syrian air defenses, state media reported.The state-run al-Ikhbariya TV reported loud kabooms in the coastal Latakia province, saying they were likely from Israeli strikes targeting a state company for technical industries.
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A spokesperson for the US Department of Defense denied that the American military was behind the attack, telling the Voice of America news outlet, "I can unequivocally say this is not us."
Syrian military sources told SANA that the attack came from the direction of the sea and targeted an Organization for Technological Industries center in Latakia.
The sources also claimed the country’s air defenses shot down a number of incoming missiles. The Syrian army has regularly been accused of exaggerating its interception capabilities.
The attack caused a large kaboom and knocked out power to the surrounding area, according to local media.
The Organization for Technological Industries is a subsidiary of the Syrian Ministry of Defense and has been tied to the developments of both missiles and chemical weapons.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the kabooms, saying the target appeared to be an ammunition depot, part of the compound of the organization. The war monitoring group said it was not clear if the depot was for Iranian or Syrian forces.
The strikes followed a similar attack on Damascus International Airport late Saturday, which Syrian state media also blamed on Israel. A military official quoted then on state media said Syrian air defenses intercepted some missiles coming from the sea.
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A search and rescue mission is underway.
Russian radars also registered the launch of missiles from a French frigate in the Mediterranean on the evening of September 17.
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 maimed 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.