Syrian Official: Downed Turkish Jet Probably Mistaken for Israeli Plane
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — A high-ranking Syrian government official suggested on Wednesday that last week’s shoot-down of a Turkish war jet was a mistake.
However, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi likely started another controversy by stating that the military might have believed the plane was actually an Israeli aircraft.
Al-Zoebi told Turkish news channel A Haber in an interview that Syrian forces might have made the error because most war jets used by Turkey and Israel look the same because they’re mostly made by the U.S.
Nevertheless, the Syrian minister insisted that his government did not intend to start a conflict with Turkey over the incident.
Acting on a request from Ankara, NATO has condemned Syria for the downing of the plane, but will take no military action to intervene. Turkey has said it would respond militarily if Syria moves its troops close to their shared border.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio