Russian-Made SA-15s Appear To Have Been Fired From Near Imam Khomeini International Airport

A surveillance video circulating on social media appears to show two missiles being fired at the Ukrainian 737-800 that was departing from Imam Khomeini International Airport last Wednesday as Iran was firing a missile barrage at U.S. and coalition targets in Iraq.

USA Today reports that the video has been verified by the New York Times and Storyful, a social media company owned by the same entity that owns the Wall Street Journal. USA Today says it has not independently verified that the video is authentic.

The video shows two missiles hitting the airliner in less than 30 seconds. The plane appears to attempt to return to the airport, but goes down near a village in the vicinity of the airport. All 176 people on board the airliner were fatally injured.

Officials in the U.S. say the weapon is known as the Gauntlet, a Russian-made SA-15 surface-to-air missile system. A former NTSB official said that it is not surprising that it took two missiles to take down the 737-800. Peter Golez said that a single SA-15 would take down a single-seat fighter, but not an airliner. He said it was not a given that the pilots could have landed the airplane after the first strike, but they likely would have had at least some control of the airplane.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report