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<\/a><\/p>\nAn Israeli airstrike, carried out as Syria troops were\u00a0liberating the terrorist-held town of Saraqib in northwestern Idlib province, has endangered a civilian flight carrying 172 passengers, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said Friday the civil Airbus-320 was heading to Damascus from the Iranian capital early Thursday when it was forced to divert its route as the Syrian capital’s air defenses were intercepting\u00a0Israeli missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n The plane made an emergency landing in the\u00a0Hmeymim air base\u00a0in Syria’s western coastal province of Latakia.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOnly due to timely actions of the Damascus airport dispatchers and the efficient operation of the automated air traffic control system, the Airbus-320 managed to\u2026 successfully land at the closest alternative airfield,\u201d\u00a0Konashenkov said.<\/span><\/p>\n The spokesman stressed that Israel was well aware of civilian flights around Damascus and that such missions demonstrated the regime’s reckless disregard for human lives.<\/span><\/p>\n “The Israeli general staff’s\u00a0use of passenger jets as a cover for its military operations or as a shield from Syrian missile system fire is becoming a typical trait of Israeli air force,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Russia had previously warned that Israeli airstrikes against Damascus were endangering civilian jets.<\/span><\/p>\n Lebanese officials have also stated that Israeli jets illegally conducting operations against Syria from the country’s airspace pose a danger to civilian aircraft in Lebanon.<\/span><\/p>\n‘Israel using passenger jets as shields’<\/strong><\/h2>\n