‘Leaked Syrian Docs’: Russia told Assad to Shoot Down Turkish Plane, Murder Captured Pilots

Yifa Yaakov
Times of Israel staff
September 30, 2012

Contrary to previous reports, the two pilots of a Turkish F-4 Phantom which was shot down by Syria in June were not killed in the crash, but were murdered by the Assad regime on Russian orders, according to a devastating series of alleged Syrian intelligence documents leaked to and published by Al-Arabiya on Saturday.

A file “sent from [President Bashar] Assad’s palace,” said the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya, conveys and thus apparently approves a Russian suggestion to “eliminate” the pilots in the “natural way.”

Syria had claimed that the plane was downed by accident, and at one point asserted that it had believed the plane was Israeli — hence the need to down it.

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This article was posted: Sunday, September 30, 2012 at 12:09 pm

Tags: foreign affairs, war

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