Turkey aborted attack on Syria at last minute over downed jet, media report

Turkey abandoned the idea of bombing Syria's anti-aircraft weapons and missile systems on the countries’ border at the last minute in the wake of last month’s downing of a Turkish jet, Hurriyet Daily News quoted the Sabah newspaper as saying today. 

F-16 warplanes were reportedly prepared to fly to Syria to conduct the bombings when the bodies of the downed jet’s pilots were found in the sea.

There were also three other factors preventing Turkey from conducting the sortie, according to reports.

The first factor was that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) were not familiar enough with the Russian antiaircraft systems deployed in Syria as the defenses had not yet been tested by Turkish jets, Sabah reported.

The TSK also held back because it had not yet been revealed how the Turkish jet had been shot down, the newspaper said.