The Lebanese Foreign Ministry has expressed condolences to the people and government of Russia over the downing of Russia’s Ilyushin Il-20 aircraftover the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon’s National News Agency said, citing a statement issued by the ministry, TASS reports.
According to the agency, the ministry "expresses deepest condolences to the people and government of Russia over the death of 15 Russian military personnel in Syria."
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on September 17, contact was lost with a Russian Il-20 aircraft flying over the Mediterranean Sea back to the Russian Hmeimim air base in Syria. The ministry said the aircraft had disappeared from radar during an airstrike four Israeli F-16 fighter jets carried out on targets in the Syrian province of Latakia.