(ANSAMed) - ANKARA, JULY 12 - The Turkish Air Force jet that
crashed into Syrian waters on June 22 may not have been shot
down by Syria after all, Turkish high military sources said in a
communique today.
In an apparent backtrack, the military sources said no trace of
explosives were found on the remains of ''the plane that Syrian
authorities said they shot down,'' according to the communique.
It may have been ''an accident,'' former General Erdogan Karakus told Hurriyet daily, while Milliyet today speculated that the jet may have crashed on a failed maneuver, or due to a technical problem while attempting to flee Syrian anti-aircraft fire.
The June 22 crash has caused tension between the two countries, who initially gave opposing accounts of what happened, with Turkey accusing Syria of shooting it down while it was on an unarmed reconnaissance mission in international waters, and Syria alleging that it had to shoot it down because it had entered Syrian airspace, was flying under the radar and rapidly approaching the Latakian coast. Both US and Russian intelligence agencies gave credence to the Syrian version. (ANSAMed).
It may have been ''an accident,'' former General Erdogan Karakus told Hurriyet daily, while Milliyet today speculated that the jet may have crashed on a failed maneuver, or due to a technical problem while attempting to flee Syrian anti-aircraft fire.
The June 22 crash has caused tension between the two countries, who initially gave opposing accounts of what happened, with Turkey accusing Syria of shooting it down while it was on an unarmed reconnaissance mission in international waters, and Syria alleging that it had to shoot it down because it had entered Syrian airspace, was flying under the radar and rapidly approaching the Latakian coast. Both US and Russian intelligence agencies gave credence to the Syrian version. (ANSAMed).
