BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
The plane of "International Airlines of Ukraine" was unintentionally shot down, reads the statement by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, Trend reports.
The statement states that during the attack by Iran on the US air base in Iraq and in subsequent hours the number of flights by US military aircraft increased.
Iran’s Air Defense System considered the sudden return of the plane after the takeoff from Imam Khomeini airport as an attack to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps important positions.
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran expressed regrets, apologies and condolences to Iranian people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations for the human error and assures that such incidents will never happen after carrying out reforms in Air Defense System.
The Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) flight crashed just minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Jan.8, killing all 176 people on board.
The Boeing 737-800 was headed for Kiev, where 138 passengers were expected to take a connecting flight to Canada.