A plane carrying 172 passengers from Tehran to Damascus made an emergency landing after coming under fire from Syrian air defences, Russia’s defence ministry said today.
The Airbus A320 was forced to land at the Russian-controlled Khmeimim air base yesterday, Russian media said, citing a ministry spokesman.
Syrian forces had been responding to Israeli strikes that hit the suburbs of the capital. Its defence ministry said it intercepted missiles that were fired at military targets.
The jet had been coming in to land at Damascus airport when it had to divert to the alternative airfield.
The spokesman did not name the airline but data from Flight Radar indicated it was a Cham Wings plane. The Syrian airline could not immediately be reached for comment.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria, saying its goal was to end Tehran’s military presence in the country, which has been locked in a civil war since 2011.
The incident comes a month after Iran shot down a Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after take-off from Tehran, killing 176.
