Turkish President Erdogan: Can’t Condemn ISIS for Shooting Down Russian Plane

On Saturday the Islamic State of Sinai, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, took credit for shooting down a Russian passenger jet in Egypt.
ergodan isis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan justified the attack saying he couldn’t condemn ISIS for shooting down the plane.
AWD News reported, via Religion of Peace:

According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan has raised eyebrows around the world capitals by justifying ISIS terrorists who brought down a Russian passenger plane in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula early saturday, killing all 224 people aboard.

“The Russian airplanes are targeting Mujahidin in Syria and partisans fighting to topple Syrian dictator Assad. In Syria, Moscow seeks to tip the balance on the ground against our brethren. Consequently, there should be no surprise if Islamic State take revenge,” Dubai TV cited the Turkish official as saying.

Having been isolated internationally for his obstinate support for hard-line Islamist rebels in Syria, the 61-year-old President Erdoğan expressed his refusal to condemn Ansar Bait al-Maqdis—infamous Sinai-based jihadist group whose members swore allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — for targeting Kogalymavia Flight 9268, killing 217 passengers including 17 children.

“How can I condemn the Islamic State for shooting down a Russian plane as its passengers were returning from a happy vacation in a time when our co-religionists in Syria are bombed by Putin’s fighter jets? …it is the natural outcome of Moscow’s actions in Syria and the support for Assad,” said ErdoÄŸan, adding, Turkey will continue to advocate the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and ousted ex-President Morsi in Egypt.

A passenger plane belonging to a small Russian airline, which was flying over 220 people from Egyptian resort Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed over Sinai on Saturday.

crash site sinai
The first images from the crash site show the demolished plane.

An ISIS linked group released video Saturday taking credit for the jet explosion.
jet flames

It is very rare for an aircraft to have problems after reaching cruising level.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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