TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has announced that its military ‘unintentionally’ shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 aboard.
Flowers and tributes are placed outside the Iranian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, with a poster that reads: “Tehran – Kyiv, we’re mourning” for the victims of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, and a photo of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani who was killed by U.S. airstrike in Iraq. Iran on Friday denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran, and called on the U.S. and Canada to share any information they have on the crash, which killed all 176 people on board. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The statement Saturday morning blames “human error” for the shootdown.
The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at U.S. forces.
Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the U.S. and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believe Iran shot down the aircraft.
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