Missiles Fired At Russian Plane With 200 Passengers Onboard Flying Over Syria – Reports

Published time: April 29, 2013 16:14                                   

Two missiles were fired at a Russian passenger plane flying over Syrian territory with 200 people onboard, an informed source in Moscow told Interfax news agency. The source of the attack remains unknown.

“Syrian [officials] informed us that on Monday morning, unidentified forces launched two ground-to-air missiles which exploded in the air very close to a civilian aircraft belonging to a Russian airline,” the source told the Russian agency.

The pilots managed to maneuver the plane in time however,“saving the lives of passengers.”

It is believed the aircraft was intentionally targeted in the attempted strike, “but it remains unclear whether the attackers knew whether it was Russian or not,” the source added.

The passenger plane was en route to Russia after departing from an unspecified resort city in Egypt at the time of the reported attack.

So far, the incident has not been officially confirmed.

The civil war in Syria between the government of President Bashar Assad and opposition forces has been raging for over two years, claiming the lives of more than 70,000 people according to UN estimates. Assad says he is fighting an insurgency which has been sponsored from abroad.

Source:http://rt.com/news/rockets-russian-plane-syria-575/