The Ukrainian flight that crashed about a day ago in Iran was said to have been accidentally shot down by the country’s anti-aircraft missile system reports Newsweek.
The report had been given by a senior Pentagon official and Iraqi intelligence official.
The Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, a Boeing 737–800 has been en route from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airpot to Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport.
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Of the 176 people on board, 82 were Iranian, 63 were Canadian and 11 were Ukrainian (including nine crewmembers), along with 10 Swedish, seven Afghan and three German nationals. None survived.
The plane had come crashing down minutes after takeoff which was not long after Iran had recently launched its missiles at US bases in Iraq.
The aircraft is believed to have been struck by a Russia-built Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile system, known to NATO as Gauntlet, the three officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, told Newsweek.
One Pentagon and one U.S. senior intelligence official told Newsweek that the Pentagon’s assessment is that the incident was accidental.
Iran’s anti-aircraft were likely active following the country’s missile attack, which came in response to the U.S. killing last week of Revolutionary Guard Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, sources said.
“Well, I have my suspicions,” President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House following Newsweek’s report. “It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and someone could have made a mistake.”
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