

Speculation in Turkey has been mounting since the armed forces released a written statement on Wednesday that appeared to contradict previous official accounts of the June 22 incident and suggested the military may be revising its initial stance.




However, in another written statement on Friday, the military reasserted its position the jet had been brought down by Syria and said it had tried to make this clear to the public in all its previous statements.

It said the findings from examinations of the flotsam referred to in Wednesday's statement meant the possibility of the plane being shot down by anti-aircraft fire "as Syria claims" had "disappeared".

Raised tensions

The loss of the plane raised tensions between Syria and Turkey, which has been harbouring Syrian rebel forces and refugees on its territory and has called for the departure of President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey dispatched its own air defense systems to its long frontier with Syria days after the incident.


Syria says it shot the F-4 jet in self-defense and without knowing that it was a Turkish aircraft. It says it shot the plane at close range with anti-aircraft fire after it flew into its air space at high speed and low altitude.

