RTSun, 04 Feb 2018 20:48 UTC
© Omar Haj Kadour / AFPA picture taken on February 3, 2018, shows the wing of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in Syria's northwest province of Idlib
Russian lawmakers have called for a thorough investigation on the origins of the man-portable missile launcher that was likely used by militants in Syria to shoot down a Russian fighter jet before killing the pilot in a firefight."Certainly, we will investigate, including a great many things: from the type of the MANPADS [man-portable air defense system] to the circumstances of the Su-25 downing," Frants Klintsevich, First Deputy chair of Russia's Federal Council Defense Committee, told Interfax.
He hopes that evidence will be available due to the "abundance of UAVs and space surveillance in the area."
As far as military losses go,
"the loss of one aircraft is nothing, but politically it has great significance and far-reaching consequences,"Klintsevich said. Other lawmakers are concerned about how the militants could have acquired the anti-aircraft weapon.
"We have information that the MANPADS used to bring down our jet was brought into Syria from a neighboring country several days ago," MP Dmitry Sablin, coordinator of the Russia-Syria parliamentary friendship group, told Interfax.
"Countries from whose territory weapons arrive, that are then used against Russian servicemen, must understand that this will not go unpunished," he added.
Deputy Head of the State Duma Defense Committee, Yury Shvytkin, told RIA he is inclined to believe that
the "MANPADS' origins are linked with Western countries."A Pentagon spokesperson, interviewed by TASS, has already denied the US sent anti-aircraft weapons to Syria.
However, the 2017 defense spending bill, signed under Barack Obama, opened the door for the supply of such weapons to Syrian rebels - a fact that Moscow sounded the alarm over when the bill was inked.However, it envisages careful vetting of the recipients and extensive paperwork, and the Pentagon has previously said that no such deliveries have actually been made.
READ MORE: 5 times Russia lost aircraft & pilots in Syrian anti-terrorist opIn mid-January, a
report by the Syrian online outlet Al-Masdar claimed Kurdish forces operating in Syria had received a shipment of MANPADS from the US in an "independent secret deal." The report cited unnamed "opposition sources."
Comment: The US military
has said no anti-aircraft weapons have been shipped to the militias it backs in Syria amid speculation the Russian Su-25 jet downed in Idlib, north-west Syria may have been shot down by a US-made missile.
"The United States have not provided any of its allied forces in Syria with anti-aircraft weapons," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway told TASS. He said the US-led coalition is currently not engaged in any operations in the area where the jet was downed Saturday. He added that the coalition's combat efforts are "geographically orientated on the current fight with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) in eastern Syria."
A Syrian special forces operation is reportedly underway in the area where a Russian Su-25 jet
was downed by a MANPAD rocket on Saturday. The goal is to find evidence allowing the weapon to be traced to its origin.
The Russian warplane was downed by a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rocket, according to the Russian defense ministry. Moscow is very interested in establishing how exactly the weapon system got into the hands of the militant group responsible for attack, Russian MP Vikotor Volodarsky told RIA Novosti.
"The group that had the MANPAD has been destroyed by the Russian Air Force. Now the Syrian commandos are working on the ground. If they find elements of that launcher, we could trace its serial number and establish its origin to the factory in a few days, find out how it got there," the Russian MP said. He added Russian planes are providing air support to the Syrian troops.
Amazes me that folks have forgotten about this news. [Link]