Iraq Shoots Down Syrian MIG-21; Pilot Survives

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries shot down a Syrian MIG-21 jet fighter that flew into Iraqi airspace Tuesday, but the pilot survived, a military spokesman said.

Syria, Iraq’s western and hostile neighbor, confirmed that the plane had been shot down and said the pilot was a trainee who strayed over Iraq by mistake. Syria demanded an Iraqi explanation of the episode.

There was no word from either Iraq or Syria on whether the pilot was warned before his Soviet-made warplane was shot down.

Iraq and Syria, ruled by rival wings of the Arab Baath Socialist Party, have been feuding for years, although there have been recent reports of attempts at reconciliation.

Syria supports Iran in its nearly seven-year-old war with Iraq.

The Iraqi spokesman, quoted by government radio, said the plane was downed at 10:39 a.m. about four miles from the Iraqi town of Al Qaim, a few miles from the Syrian border on the Euphrates River and 185 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Willing to Return Pilot

Iraq and Syria share a 310-mile-long border, most of it desert.

The Iraqi spokesman, who was not identified, said the pilot of the downed plane was alive but gave no details of his condition, name or rank.

Baghdad radio said the Iraqi Foreign Ministry complained to the Arab League about the Syrian violation of Iraqi airspace. Both Syria and Iraq belong to the 21-nation Arab League.

The Foreign Ministry note said the Iraqi government was willing to turn over the captured pilot after formalities are completed. It did not elaborate.

In Damascus, a military spokesman said the pilot took off on a training mission at 10:07 a.m. from Deir-Ezzor airport in northeast Syria.

“While carrying out his mission, the pilot lost his way and entered Iraqi airspace by mistake, and contact with him was lost,” said the spokesman, who by custom was not identified further. “Then Iraqi authorities announced the plane was shot down.

“This action cannot be justified within the framework of the prevailing circumstances, and (we) require an explanation for such conduct, especially since several similar actions were committed by Iraqi military planes, and Syria did not shoot them down,” he said.

Tuesday’s violation is the first reported since July, 1985 when Iraq complained to the Arab League that four Syrian warplanes had violated Iraqi airspace.

The two countries severed ties in 1979, and the border has been closed since 1982. An Iraqi oil pipeline across Syria to the Mediterranean also remains closed.