BREAKING: Russian Military Plane Shot Down During Israeli Led Attack in Syria

A Russian military Il-20 aircraft with 14 service members on board went off the radars during an attack by four Israeli jets on Syria’s Latakia province, the Russian Defense Ministry reports.

This is a developing story. Return to this post for updates.

UPDATE 1

Russian radars also registered the launch of missiles from a French frigate in the Mediterranean on the evening of September 17.

UPDATE 2
From RT:

Fourteen people were on board the plane at the time of the disappearance. A search and rescue mission is underway.

The Ilyushin 20 (IL-20) surveillance turboprop plane is an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) platform, equipped with a wide range of antennas, infrared and optical sensors. The aircraft's SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne Radar) and the plane's satellite link allows the Russian military to monitor Syrian skies in real time.

An hour-long attack on Latakia began around 10 pm local time, and targeted a power station as well as two facilities belonging to the Syrian military. Syrian officials said the attack was “foreign” and came “from the sea,” but could not initially confirm rumors that Israel was behind it. Seven people were injured in the attack, according to Syrian officials.

While the Russian military said it recorded four F-16 Israeli jets over Syria at the time of the attack on Latakia, the IDF has refused to comment on the report.

UPDATE 3

The US says the Russian aircraft was hit by Syrian anti-aircraft fire.

UPDATE 4

Via The Wall Street Journal:

Russia blamed Israel Tuesday for the loss of a Russian reconnaissance plane shot down overnight by Syrian defense systems, boosting tensions between Tel Aviv and Moscow.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said the Soviet-designed Ilyushin-20 was brought down by Syria’s aging S-200 air defense systems as Damascus tried to defend against strikes by four Israeli F-16s on Syrian government targets, the Interfax news agency reported. Moscow said it reserved the right to “respond adequately” to the loss.