[size=44]Iran admits it ‘unintentionally’ shot down Ukrainian airliner, killing 176[/size]
Tehran says its military downed plane, blaming ‘human error,’ after denying it played a part for several days; crash came hours after Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq
[size=12]By [size=12]AGENCIES and TOI STAFFToday, 5:59 am [/size]
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Rescue workers carry the body of a victim of a Ukrainian plane crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2020 (AP/Ebrahim Noroozi) [size=18]Iran announced Saturday that its military “unintentionally” shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week outside Tehran, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. The plane was shot down early Wednesday, hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing US troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. No one was wounded in the attack on the bases.
A military statement carried by Iranian state media said the plane was mistaken for a “hostile target” after it turned toward a “sensitive military center” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The military was at its “highest level of readiness,” it said, amid the heightened tensions with the United States.[/size]
“In such a condition, because of human error and in a unintentional way, the flight was hit,” the statement said. It apologized for the disaster and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent such “mistakes” in the future. It also said those responsible for the strike on the plane would “immediately” face military justice. “We assure you that by pursuing fundamental reforms in operational processes at the armed forces’ level we will make it impossible to repeat such errors,” the general staff added in a press release.
A bulldozer seen working as rescue workers search the scene where an Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Iran had denied for several days that a missile caused the crash. But then the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Iran shot down the aircraft.
The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. The Canadian government had earlier lower the nation’s death toll from 63.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said “Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster.”
“Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations,” Zarif wrote on Twitter.
Bobby2
Posts : 1768 Join date : 2018-12-19
Subject: Re: Iran Shot Down Passenger Jet Sat 11 Jan 2020, 10:17 am
The Iranians shot down their own plane and are now trying bulldoze all the evidence:
Iran has used bulldozers to clear away debris at the site of Ukrainian airliner crash, potentially destroying evidence as Tehran continues to deny Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed the jet, killing all 176 people on board.
it_is_the_light
Posts : 148 Join date : 2020-01-09
Subject: Re: Iran Shot Down Passenger Jet Sat 11 Jan 2020, 8:58 am
[size=40]Reports: Iran Bulldozed Crash Site and Removed Virtually All Pieces of Downed Ukrainian Plane[/size]
by Jim HoftJanuary 10, 2020110 Comments
An Ukrainian Airlines plane carrying 180 passengers and crew crashed Wednesday morning just minutes after takeoff from Tehran, Iran! This came on the same night that Iran fired over a dozen missiles at US bases in Iraq.
Al Hadath Dubai News reported a missile took down the Ukrainian flight after the crash on Wednesday.
Al Hadath: Preliminary images of the Ukrainian plane suspected of being hit by an Iranian missile. Ukrainian officials on Thursday said they want to investigate the crash site for missile parts after images appeared on the internet.
And photos of the Ukrainian flight show shrapnel damage on the wings and fuselage.
[size=40]On Thursday— US OFFICIALS ANNOUNCED THEY ARE CONFIDENT THE UKRAINIAN JETLINER WAS SHOT DOWN![/size]
Via CBS News:
And on Thursday afternoon Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters there is evidence the Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran — killing 176 people including 63 Canadians — was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.
Bobby2
Posts : 1768 Join date : 2018-12-19
Subject: Re: Iran Shot Down Passenger Jet Fri 10 Jan 2020, 10:17 pm
Top Iranian general: Strikes on US bases were just the start of big operation Head of of the IRGC Aerospace Force says Iran chose not to kill 5000 US soldiers to avenge Soleimani; claims dozens of injured US soldiers evacuated via Israel, Jordan.
A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned recently that Tel Aviv could also be targeted, while a former head of the IRGC threatened to turn Israeli cities “to dust” if the US attacks targets in Iran.
Bobby2
Posts : 1768 Join date : 2018-12-19
Subject: Re: Iran Shot Down Passenger Jet Fri 10 Jan 2020, 3:15 pm
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