Israel's new attack on Syria has an important difference from previous ones. Israel launches new strike on targets in Syria

Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter crashed in the north of the country, the pilots ejected but were injured.

Israel launched a powerful attack on Syria's air defense system after an Israeli fighter jet was shot down during an air raid.

The airstrike was the most powerful since the 1982 Lebanon War, according to senior Israeli Air Force spokesman General Tomer Bar. At the same time, all aircraft that took part in the sortie returned safely to base.

Earlier, Israeli aircraft attacked “Iranian targets” in Syria after an Iranian drone launched from Syria was intercepted over the country’s territory. The targets of the strikes were drone control systems.

During this attack, air defense systems opened fire on Israeli aircraft. As a result, one of the fighters was damaged and crashed in northern Israel. According to the Israeli military, the pilots ejected, but were injured and hospitalized.

• Israel threatens to destroy Syria's entire air defense system
• Israel used the Arrow missile defense system for the first time in combat conditions
• Syria fires missiles at Israeli warplanes

This is the first loss of the Israeli air force since 2006, when Hezbollah militants shot down an Israeli helicopter over Lebanon with a missile. All five crew members died, including the female flight engineer.

The Syrian authorities have not yet officially commented on the incident. Previously, in similar cases, they accused Israel of aggression and used air defense, but so far they have not been able to shoot down Israeli fighters.

At the same time, the Syrian state agency SANA, citing an anonymous source, reports that Syrian air defenses allegedly shot down more than one plane. The air defense system repelled an Israeli Air Force attack on military base in the center of Syria, the report said.

In March last year, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that in the event of a new anti-aircraft missile attack on Israeli aircraft, Syria's entire air defense system would be immediately destroyed.

Then Syrian missiles were also fired at Israeli planes carrying out attacks on Syrian territory. One of the missiles was shot down, the other two fell on Israeli territory. The Israeli planes were not damaged.

It was reported that Israel then used the Arrow missile defense system for the first time in combat conditions. Now, during the incident with the Iranian drone, the air raid warning system went off in some areas of Israel.

Exchange of threats

"The Syrians are playing with fire by allowing the Iranians to attack Israel," warned Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Yonatan Conricus. He also added that Israel will force them to pay a high price for the downed plane, but is not interested in escalating the situation.

Meanwhile, Iran and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, whose fighters fight on the side of Assad's army, called claims that an Iranian drone penetrated Israeli airspace a lie.

In turn, Russia expressed serious concern about the Israeli air strikes and called on all parties to show restraint.

What is the Iranian presence in Syria?

Iran remains Israel's main enemy, with the Iranian military fighting against anti-government groups in Syria since 2011.

Tehran sent military advisers, volunteers, and, according to some sources, hundreds of professional fighters from the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Syria.

It is also believed that Iran has sent thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition to help the Assad regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah militants fighting on its side.

Tehran is accused of not only seeking to increase its influence, but of wanting to provide routes for land delivery of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

War of domes and shells. A full-fledged air battle broke out in the Syrian skies

A significant event of the past week was the exchange of blows between Syria and Israel. Within a few hours, a full-scale air war broke out in the sky.

Both sides used the most modern means of their arsenals to repel attacks and strike back. Anti-missile systems went into battle Iron Dom("Iron Dome"), " Pantsir-S», « Buk-M", cruise missiles Deliah, long-range ATGMs SPIKE-NLOS, attack drones-hunters for air defense Harop And jet systems salvo fire " Tornado" Also, according to some reports, Tel Aviv has used the latest aeroballistic missiles launched from aircraft.

So far, both sides of the conflict attribute the victories to themselves. The Israeli military department has distributed several videos recorded from optical-electronic systems aviation assets lesions (ASP). They show how ASP hit MLRS " Tornado", as well as the launcher " Pantsir-S" It is noteworthy that experts are still arguing about what kind of weapons they were. In turn, Damascus published in in social networks several videos that clearly show how Syrian anti-aircraft missiles are very effectively destroying certain objects in the night sky.

However, the first detailed analysis night battle was given by the Russian Ministry of Defense. A few hours after the last salvos, the military department held a special briefing at which they reported: during the battles, Syrian air defense managed to destroy about 70 Israeli missiles. In general, as during the American-French-British missile attack, Syria's air defense worked well.

Let's try to figure out what happened and what successes both sides achieved.

The riddle of primacy

The first and most difficult question is: who struck first? Tel Aviv claims to have responded decisively to provocations after Israeli territory came under fire from Iranian armed forces in the Golan Heights region. Tehran's supporters used ballistic missiles for the first time, which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. After which Tel Aviv decided to launch massive missile attacks on known Iranian targets in Syria.

At the same time, Damascus stated that it was the Israeli armed forces that were the first to deliver a massive strike and that it was a pre-planned operation. In particular, airfields and air defense positions were attacked. After repelling the attack, Damascus launched a retaliatory missile attack on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, which resulted in heavy casualties on the part of the Israeli armed forces. At the same time, in official statements never no mention was made of Iranian military units.

Both sides' versions have inconsistencies. We must admit that The Israeli strike was preceded by serious preparation. The operation had clearly been planned for quite some time.. This is supported by the fact that the use of cruise missiles, air defense hunting drones and long-range anti-tank missiles was clearly linked. The targets were clearly scouted in advance, and a schedule for their destruction was drawn up in such a way as to reduce the potential of the Syrian air defense and destroy the specified objects.

But there is some truth in Israel’s version as well. Most likely, this could not have happened without the participation of Iran and its proxy forces. This is evidenced by the fact that in all statements Damascus avoided in every possible way to mention the participation of Tehran.

The fact of a ballistic missile attack on Israeli territory has not been confirmed. All salvos on Israeli territory were fired by Syrian long-range Smerch MLRS. But there is an assumption that Tehran, in response to the US breaking the nuclear deal, decided to increase its military capabilities in Syria. Moreover, the US President largely made his decision under pressure from the Israeli lobby and Tel Aviv itself. Suffice it to remember: exactly Benjamin Netanyahu gave a report proving that the Iranian side had not curtailed work on nuclear weapons.

As has been mentioned several times, Tehran previously deployed drone squads on the border with Israel and set up ballistic missile positions. At the same time, Tel Aviv repeatedly struck, preventing the implementation of Iranian plans. But this time Tehran crossed a certain “red line” and the Israeli side decided to react as harshly as possible. It can be assumed that Iran has finally finished preparing the launch sites and has begun deploying its ballistic missiles.

Impact footage: guided missile destroyed the Pantsir-S1 air defense missile system in Syria

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MOSCOW, September 18 - RIA Novosti, Andrey Kots. The Russian aviation group in Syria suffered losses: on Monday evening, a reconnaissance plane with 15 servicemen on board was shot down from the ground by “friendly fire”. An Il-20 landing was fired upon by the Syrian S-200 anti-aircraft missile system, which repelled a raid by Israeli F-16 fighters on military targets in Latakia. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the Israeli pilots were hiding behind a Russian plane. Moreover, Israel warned about the attack a minute before the strike. The Ministry of Defense reserves the right to take adequate response actions, which Sergei Shoigu has already warned Israeli Minister Lieberman about. What is known on this moment about the night escalation in Syria, - in the RIA Novosti material.

Didn't get in touch

Communication with the Il-20 aircraft was lost on Monday at 22:07. He was last seen three dozen kilometers from the coast, when the plane was landing after an hour and a half patrol. By mid-Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense managed to almost completely restore the picture of what happened.

While the board was descending from a height of five kilometers, from the side Mediterranean Sea At an extremely low altitude, four Israeli Air Force F-16 aircraft with GBU-39 guided bombs approached the coast. As they approached, they launched two strikes on Syrian infrastructure facilities in Latakia - an oil depot, an airfield of the Syrian Air Force, a military base and an aluminum plant. After which they turned around and went back towards the sea.

"Israeli planes deliberately created a dangerous situation for surface ships and aircraft near. The bombing was carried out near the location of the French frigate Auvergne and in close proximity to the Il-20 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces that was landing. Hiding behind a Russian plane, Israeli pilots exposed it to Syrian air defense fire,” said Major General Igor Konashenkov, head of the department of information and mass communications of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The alerted Syrian air defense forces tried to repel the attack from the air, but one S-200 system accidentally captured the wrong target and, instead of an Israeli fighter, destroyed a Russian reconnaissance aircraft, whose effective reflective surface is an order of magnitude greater than that of the F-16. The Russian Ministry of Defense emphasized that Israeli aviation controls could not help but see the Il-20 as it was landing. A search and rescue operation is currently ongoing in the area of ​​the crash.

Il-20 aircraft have long been used in Syria to perform a number of tasks: electronic reconnaissance, target designation of bombers, airspace control, and jamming. They are equipped with a side-view radar, an infrared scanner, optical sensors, and a satellite communication system for real-time data exchange. There are about 20 aircraft of this type in the Aerospace Forces and Navy Aviation. Previously, neither the USSR nor Russia lost an Il-20 in the combat zone.

Whose decision

The head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, placed the blame for the downing of the plane entirely on the Israeli side. He directly said this over the phone to Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Shoigu stressed that the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 15 Russian servicemen, occurred due to the irresponsibility of the Israeli Air Force, ignoring repeated calls from the Russian department to refrain from attacks on Syria.

The Kremlin is extremely concerned about the current situation. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin sincerely sympathizes with the family and friends, as well as fellow military personnel who died in the Il-20 crash. At the same time, Peskov assured that the incident would not in any way affect the agreements between Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the demilitarization of Syria.
Earlier, on Monday, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at a meeting in Sochi signed a memorandum on stabilizing the situation in the de-escalation zone in Idlib. By October 15, a demilitarized zone 15-20 kilometers deep will be created along the line of contact between the armed opposition and government forces. It will be controlled by mobile patrol groups of Turkish units and Russian military police. The parties decided not to carry out a major offensive operation in the province for now.

It is unlikely that the missile and air strike on Latakia are in any way connected with the outcome of the negotiations. After all, the US-led coalition has long been frightening the world community with the danger of mass casualties during the Syrian Arab Army’s offensive in Idlib, and it is unlikely in its interests to aggravate relations with Russia, which has just agreed to slow down its final push against the province. Obviously, Israel is pursuing its own goals here: to weaken Iran’s position in Syria. Israeli aviation constantly attacks Syrian provinces. Given that the Syrian, Iranian and Russian militaries often act together, such an incident could happen sooner or later.

© Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

© Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Another question is why French President Emmanuel Macron decided to launch a missile strike. However, the choice of targets for the attack - chemical industry enterprises - suggests that he decided not to wait for the formal casus belli - “Assad’s use of chemical weapons.” Considering the fact that an American reconnaissance plane was flying along the Syrian coast all day before the attack, the French president could have received a “blessing from above” for the missile strike.

Immediately after the loss of contact with the plane, the media immediately circulated several versions of the mysterious disappearance of the Il-20, and the American TV channel CNN was the first to voice the true reason in the morning. At first this version was called a fake. It is noteworthy that at the time of the attack on the plane, Russian radar air control systems detected missile launches from the French Navy frigate Auvergne in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Next to him was the Russian patrol ship Pytlivy. However, the version that the Russian plane was hit by a salvo from a French warship initially seemed unfounded - the SCALP cruise missiles that such frigates are armed with reach the target at an altitude of no more than 30-40 meters, and the Il-20, vulnerable to fire from the ground, operates significantly higher .

Summer weather

Israeli Air Force activity near the borders of Syria in recent months is off scale. According to Israeli media reports, citing sources in the army, in the last year and a half alone, aircraft have carried out more than two hundred missile and bomb attacks on Iranian military infrastructure facilities on the territory of the Arab Republic. Moreover, the Israeli side in most cases refused to comment.

Thus, according to the Syrian national news agency SANA, in early September, Israeli aircraft carried out a strike on the province of Tartus, as a result of which eight people were injured. At the same time, several missiles were fired at the Wadi al-Uyun area in the vicinity of Hama, and some Syrian air defenses managed to shoot down.

A month earlier, the Israeli Air Force attacked a military facility in the city of Masyaf in Syria. In July, aircraft fired rockets at several army installations in the border southern Syrian province of Quneitra. “We do not comment on reports in the foreign press,” an employee of the press service of the Israel Defense Forces told RIA Novosti at the time.

The Tifor air base in the eastern province of Homs has been attacked from the air at least three times since the beginning of the year. The Syrian press immediately blamed the Israelis for the raids; as usual, they refrained from commenting. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, in April two F-15 fighter jets fired eight missiles at the base, five of which were shot down. The Russian advisers were not injured in the attack.

The official Syrian agency SANA reported that several people were killed and injured as a result of the bombing. In May, Israeli aircraft attacked dozens of targets in Syria and air defense batteries.

Already strained Syrian-Israeli relations were put to the test on July 24 when Israeli air defenses shot down a Syrian Su-22 aircraft that the Israeli military said had flown two kilometers into airspace controlled by the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then announced a “gross violation of the disengagement agreements” between Israel and Syria from 1974. Damascus claims that the bomber carried out a combat mission against terrorists and did not cross the border.

Israeli Air Force planes launched a missile attack on targets located in the Damascus-controlled Hisya industrial zone, located 35 km south of the Syrian city of Homs. An unnamed Syrian Arab Army commander said the attack targeted a copper factory.

In response to the Israeli attack, Syrian air defense forces launched a retaliatory strike. Surface-to-air missiles from the Syrian Arab Army's 72nd Division were fired at Israeli Air Force fighters operating from neighboring Lebanese airspace. The Syrian commander did not report casualties, writes Reuters.

Conkrikus also stressed that Tel Aviv “retains the capacity and freedom of action to prevent any hostile actions or intentions from Syria.”

At the beginning of September 2017, Israeli aircraft attacked the positions of Syrian government forces in the province of Hama, as a result of the airstrike two people were killed, FAN reports.

According to the department, the Israeli Air Force attacked the positions of the Syrian armed forces in the area of ​​​​the city of Masyaf, which is located north of Homs.

At the same time, the Israeli military refused to comment on the report of an airstrike on positions of Syrian government forces, noting that they do not disclose information related to current operations.

Syrian authorities described the Israeli airstrike as “an aggressive act that could have dangerous consequences for the security and stability of the region.” In addition, Damascus accused Israel of supporting militants.