Tension Mounts: Turkey Intercepts Syrian Plane, US Deploys Troops in Jordan

Local Editor

Turkey intercepted Wednesday a Syrian passenger plane under the pretext that it is suspected of transporting military cargo from Moscow to Damascus.

According to Turkish news agencies, Ankara's military jets escorted the Damascus-bound Airbus A-320, carrying 35 passengers, into the airport in Ankara.
"We received information that the plane's cargo did not comply with rules of civil aviation," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying.

He further stated that "it is unacceptable that such a transfer is made using our airspace."

In parallel, Davutoglu said Turkish authorities had also declared Syria's airspace to be unsafe and were stopping Turkish aircraft from flying over the civil war-torn country.

Later, it was learned that the plane took off again for its destination in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
However, a source in the Russian arms exporting agency told Interfax on Thursday that no weapons were on board the airplane.

"Neither weapons nor any kind of systems or parts for military equipment were on board or could have been on board," Ifax news agency quoted the source as saying on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, US War Secretary Leon Panetta admitted that Washington has sent troops to the Jordan-Syria border to help build a headquarters in Jordan.
The revelation raises the possibility of an escalation in the US military involvement in the conflict.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org