Russian Investigators Launch Probe Into Il-20 Plane Crash in Mediterranean

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Investigative Committee said Tuesday it had opened an investigation into the crash of the Il-20 reconnaissance plane off the Syrian coast that killed 15 military personnel.

"The main military investigation department of Russia's Investigative Committee launched a criminal probe into the crash of the Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea," spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

According to Petrenko, investigators and criminologists of the committee work together with Russian Defense Ministry officials at the scene of the incident.

"All the circumstances and the causes of the incident are being established," she added.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call earlier that Tel Aviv was ready to provide Moscow with all necessary information to facilitate the probe into the downing of the military plane.

Russia's Hmeymim airbase lost contact with Il-20 military aircraft late on Monday during the attack of four Israeli F-16 aircraft on Syrian targets in the province of Latakia. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier on Tuesday that the Israeli military deliberately created a dangerous situation by using the Russian aircraft as a shield against Syrian air defense systems.