A Russian Su-24 bomber was detected over the aid convoy that was attacked as it delivered aid to Syrians on Monday, leaving little doubt that the Russians were responsible for the bombing that killed 20 people and effectively ended hopes for a cease-fire that would allow relief for citizens, a senior Pentagon official said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the evidence involves sensitive intelligence matters, told the Washington Examiner that the bomber was detected one minute before the airstrike occurred.
“We know the Russian plane was there, and we know it was an airstrike,” the official said, dismissing the Russian contention that militants may have attacked the trucks from the ground.
“We know what happened,” said the official, who would not confirm if the U.S. has drone imagery or other hard evidence that it would be willing to release to refute Russia’s denial.
The Pentagon also disputes a Russian Defense Ministry claim that an unarmed U.S. predator drone was in the area of the convoy at the time of the attack.
The official says there were no intelligence, surveillance or reconnaissance aircraft in the vicinity of Aleppo when the bombing took place.
On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement denying either Russia or Syria conducted airstrikes in the area. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Tuesday that he holds Russia responsible, since it was in charge of making sure Syria stayed within the bounds of the cease-fire.
Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday called on Russia and Syria to stop flying aircraft in Syria so that humanitarian aid can reach people in need.
“We must move forward to try to immediately ground all aircraft flying in those key areas in order to de-escalate the situation and give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded,” Kerry said at the United Nations in New York. “And if that happens, there’s a chance of giving credibility back to this process.”
