Who Bears Responsibility for Downing Russia’s Aircraft in Syria?
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
Working cooperatively with Russia, Syrian special forces are investigating the Saturday incident, discussed in two same-day articles.
It’s clear who bears responsibility. Washington is waging proxy war on Russia in Syria, supporting terrorist fighters, supplying them with heavy weapons, including MANPADs used to down Russia’s Su-25 aircraft, its pilot murdered in cold blood on the ground.
Moscow hopes to locate traces of the launcher used to fire the deadly missile, its serial number able to identify its origin.
Forensic work on the ground will likely uncover what Russia is seeking. The Pentagon lied claiming its fingerprints aren’t on the incident.
A same-day article discussed sources confirming that Washington provided Kurdish fighters with MANPADS, along with covertly supplying ISIS and other terrorists with these weapons.
The Pentagon claiming otherwise fell flat. US forces are involved with ISIS and other terrorists, training and directing them, deploying them where Washington wants them used against government forces and Russian operations.
Russian lawmaker Viktor Vodolstsky said a Syrian ground operation is underway, seeking to find elements of the MANPAD used to down Russia’s aircraft, explaining:
“(T)hen by their manufacture numbers and by origin, in the nearest future we will know where these MANPADs came from.”
Russian aerial operations are supporting the ground search. US-supported Tahrir al-Sham terrorists claimed responsibility for the deadly attack during an “air raid” over Saraqeb in northwestern Idlib province - in one of the Russian-established deescalation zones.
The group is linked to al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria. Downing of Russia’s Su-25 aircraft is more evidence of Washington’s proxy war on Russia in the country - wanting endless war continued for regime change, opposing Moscow’s efforts for resolving years of conflict.
Since intervening to combat terrorists in Syria, Russian losses have been few, yet hard to bear.
On November 24, 2015, a Russian Su-24M tactical bomber was downed in Syrian airspace by a Turkish F-16 warplane. Both pilots successfully ejected, one killed on the ground by US-supported terrorists, the other rescued.
A Russian Mi-8 helicopter involved in a search and rescue mission for the downed pilots was forced to land by ground fire near terrorists’ positions. A marine was killed, others on board rescued.
On July 8, 2016, a Russian-made Syrian Mi-25 attack helicopter piloted by a Russian crew was downed while attacking ISIS terrorists, advancing on Palmyra. Highly decorated pilot Ryafagat Khabibulin was killed in the attack.
On August 1, 2016, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was downed by ground fire during a humanitarian aid mission to Aleppo. Three crew members and two Russian reconciliation center officers were killed.
Major Roman Filippov’s death from Saturday’s incident was the 44th Russian casualty since its forces intervened in September 2015.
A Final Comment
The NYT disgracefully quoted a so-called “media activist” connected to US-supported terrorists in Syria, calling anti-government fighters responsible for downing Russia’s Su-25 and murdering its pilot on the ground “heroes.”
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