According toCBS News, U.S. satellites detected two surface-to-air missile launches that occurred shortly before the plane exploded. Missile components were apparently found near the location of the crash, a source who was inside an intelligence briefing told CBS News. The crash occurred just hours after Iran hadlaunched missiles at two military basesin Iraq that house U.S. troops.
Sources toldNewsweekthat Iran’s anti-aircraft missile systems were likely active after their attack on the military bases in Iraq.
CNNreported that Iranian troops may have mistakenly believed they were under attack in thetense hoursfollowing their strike on the military bases. (Iran’s strike came after PresidentDonald Trumpordered an airstrikein Iraq that killed the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Major General Qassem Soleimani.)
According to CBS News, Iran has refuted the allegations.
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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According to theBBC, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization chief Ali Abedzadeh previously said that the plane — which was bound for Ukraine and went down shortly after takeoff —was “on fire”and crashed while it was attempting to return to the airport.
Abedzadeh reportedly added that the pilots had not made any distress calls before heading back to the airport.
Iranian officials had previously said that the plane likely crashed due to technical difficulties, according toThe Wall Street Journal, but Ukrainian investigators hadn’t ruled out other possibilities.
Ukraine plane crash.Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The aircraft had 167 passengers and nine crew members on board, Ukraine International Airlines — which operated Wednesday’s flight — previously confirmed to PEOPLE. The flight left the Tehran International Airport around 6:00 a.m. local time and was bound for Ukraine.
According toCNN, atweetfrom Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko said that 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals died in the crash.
The plane involved in Wednesday’s crash was a Boeing 737-800 jet, not the Boeing 737 MAX plane that waswas groundedin March 2019 after two fatal crashes in less than five months. According to Ukraine International Airlines, the aircraft involved in the crash was built in 2016 and its last scheduled maintenance took place on Monday.
source: people.com
