Malaysian Official: MH17 Not Shot Down by Air-to-Air Missile
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Saturday that it was impossible that an air-to-air missile was used to take down the MH17 flight, according to the report of The Star, a Malaysian English-language newspaper.
"It was a surface-to-air missile and in that area, such a system could be available to the Ukrainian side or the rebel forces," Hishammuddin added.
Previously there were reports saying that the US intelligence analyst had concluded that the aircraft was brought down by an air- to-air missile, which was related to the Ukrainian government, Xinhua reported.
The United Nations said that a probe into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is being hampered by the volatile security situation at the crash site in eastern Ukraine.
"While the downing of the aircraft may constitute a war crime, a thorough, effective, independent and impartial investigation is needed to determine the facts and circumstances of this act," Ivan Simonovic, UN assistant secretary-general for human rights, said when he was briefing the UN Security Council on the current situation in eastern Ukraine.