Satellite Operator Says Released Photos of Israeli Airstrikes in Syrian Latakia

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) – Israeli satellite operator ImageSat International (iSi) published satellite photos of what it called an ammunition warehouse destroyed as a result of the recent Israeli airstrikes in Syria’s eastern province of Latakia, during which a Russian Il-20 aircraft with 15 servicemen on board crashed.

"The ammunition warehouse [stricken] two day ago in #Latakia, #Syria, is completely destroyed," the company wrote in the caption to the pictures, published on Twitter late on Wednesday.

Preliminary #BDA — the ammunition warehouse striked two day ago in #Latakia, #Syria, is completely destroyed. pic.twitter.com/Wg5MRgiOFR

— imagesatintl (@imagesatint) September 19, 2018

​The Russian Hmeymim airbase lost contact with the Il-20 military aircraft late on Monday during the attack of four Israeli F-16 aircraft on Syrian targets in Latakia. All 15 personnel on board the plane were killed in the crash.

READ MORE: Il-20 Accidentally Downed by Syria: Putin Calls Incident Tragic Chain of Events

The Israeli military maintained it had targeted a facility where equipment to be transferred to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement on behalf of Iran had been stored. Moreover, Israel put the blame for the Russian plane crash on the Syrian army, saying it had fired indiscriminately and did not ensure that no Russian aircraft had been in the air.

The Russian Defense Ministry, in its turn, argued that the Israeli military deliberately created a dangerous situation by using the Russian aircraft as a shield against Syrian air defense systems.

On Thursday, an Israeli military delegation led by Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin will travel to Moscow to release information about the Il-20 crash.