Iran says it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet that killed all 176 people on board

Simon Ateba

Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa | + posts

Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.

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Iran admitted on Saturday it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet that killed all 176 people on board.

Iranian military said in a statement that human error was to blame because of what it described as the plane’s sharp, unexpected turn toward a sensitive military base.

Iran had earlier claimed that mechanical issues caused the crash of the aircraft

It repeatedly denied that Iranian military defenses had downed the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, and even invited Boeing to investigate.

The downing of the aircraft came even as Iran was planning to avenge the assassination of Qassem Soleimani by an American airstrike ordered by President Trump.