Russia: Israeli strike on Syria threatened civilian flights

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military today criticized an alleged Israeli airstrike near the Syrian capital, saying it has endangered civilian flights.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that six Israeli F-16 jets launched a "provocative" raid at the moment when two civilian airliners were preparing to land in Damascus and Beirut, creating a "direct threat" to the aircraft.

Lebanon's acting Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos later confirmed Konashenkov's account, saying the two airplanes in Lebanese airspace "narrowly" escaped Israeli warplanes, averting a "human catastrophe."

Fenianos didn't provide details, but said he reported the incident to the prime minister-designate. He said the Lebanese government will present a complaint to the U.N. Security Council.

The Syrian military didn't fully engage its air defense assets to avoid accidentally hitting the passenger jets, Konashenkov said. He added that Syrian air traffic controllers redirected the Damascus-bound plane to the Russian air base in Hemeimeem in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.

Konashenkov said the Syrian air defense forces shot down 14 of the 16 precision-guided bombs dropped by the Israeli jets, while the remaining two hit a Syrian military depot about 4.3 miles west of Damascus, injuring three Syrian soldiers.

It wasn't clear if the Syrian military used any of the advanced S-300 air defense missile systems that Russia delivered in October to beef up its air defenses. The move followed the Sept. 17 downing of a Russian reconnaissance plane by Syrian forces responding to an Israeli air raid, an incident that strained previously warm ties between Russia and Israel.