MH17 shootdown may have been 'mistake': US intel official

Malaysian flight MH17 may have been shot down by "mistake" by ill-trained pro-Russian separatists, US intelligence officials said Tuesday, while dismissing Moscow's accounts of the incident.

A man walks amongst the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 after it crashed, near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine, on July 17, 2014 - by Alexander Khudoteply

Evidence gathered so far suggests separatists launched the SA-11 surface-to-air missile that blew up the Malaysian airliner, but it remains unclear "who pulled the trigger" and why, said a senior intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The most plausible explanation... was that it was a mistake," and that the missile was fired by "an ill-trained crew" using a system that requires some skill and training, the official said.
The intelligence official cited previous incidents over the years in which both Russian and US forces have mistakenly shot down civilian airliners. A Korean airliner was downed by a Soviet fighter jet in 1983 and US naval forces mistakenly shot down an Iranian civilian passenger plane in 1988.
"We've all seen mistakes in the past," the official told reporters.
Russian operatives have been spotted on the ground in eastern Ukraine but the US intelligence community had no explicit proof that Russians were with the SA-11 unit that fired on the airliner, officials said.
US satellite and other "technical" intelligence confirmed the airliner with 298 people on board was hit by an SA-11 surface-to-air missile from an area controlled by the pro-Russian rebels.
Although the United States had observed a flow of heavy weapons, including air defense systems, into Ukraine from Russia, intelligence agencies had not seen the larger SA-11 missiles being moved into the country before the airliner was downed, officials said.
The Russian military had been training the rebels at a large base in Rostov on various weapons, including air defense systems.
But US officials said there was no explicit evidence of the Russians training the separatists on the SA-11 missile batteries.
The senior intelligence officials said they chose to brief reporters partly to counter what they called misleading propaganda from Russia and its state-controlled media over the incident.
Allegations that the Malaysian Boeing 777 took evasive action in the air, similar to how a military plane might maneuver, had no basis and the reports amounted to "a classic case of blaming the victims," the senior official said.
The claim that the Ukrainian government had shot down the plane was not realistic, as Kiev had no such missile systems in that area, which is clearly under the control of the rebels. 
That scenario would mean Ukrainian government troops would have had to fight their way into the area, fire at the passenger plane and fight their way out again, the official said.
"That is not a plausible scenario to me," the official said.

North Korea fires more short-range missiles

North Korea on Sunday fired two ballistic missiles into the sea, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of launches staged in an apparent show of force ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the South.

The North fired the missiles into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) from the country's east coast Sunday morning, a defense ministry official told AFP. 

"Both landed in international waters beyond its sea border," the official said.

He did not elaborate on the type of the missile. But Yonhap news agency, citing a military official, said they were short-range Scud missiles with a range of about 500 kilometers (300 miles). 

In Tokyo, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera also told reporters that North Korea had launched a number of ballistic missiles.

He added that the Japanese government had lodged a protest with Pyongyang through its embassy in Beijing.

The launch came three days after Pyongyang fired what were believed to be three short-range missiles into the sea on Thursday.  

The North did not officially confirm Thursday's launch, revealed by Seoul's military. But a day later, the state-run Korean Central News Agency hailed what it called the successful test of "cutting-edge" and high-precision missiles, watched by leader Kim Jong-Un.

- 'Warning message' from North -

The launches come only days ahead of Xi's state visit to Seoul to discuss issues including the North's disputed nuclear weapons programs.

The July 3-4 trip -- Xi's first presidential journey to the Korean peninsula -- also marks the first time in almost two decades for a sitting Chinese leader to visit the South before having been to the North.

China is the isolated North's sole major ally and major economic lifeline that offers precious fuel and food to its wayward ally.

But ties have been tested by the North's pursuit of nuclear programs in defiance of pressure from the international community including Beijing.

The North staged its third atomic test -- its most powerful so far -- in February 2013, triggering new sanctions and condemnation by UN Security Council members including China.

The latest missile launches were aimed at increasing pressure on Xi and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye ahead of their talks, said Shin In-Kyun, head of Korea Defense Network, a Seoul-based think tank.

"The two leaders will inevitably discuss how to curb the North's nuclear ambition and how to punish Pyongyang if it pushes ahead with the weapons programmed," Shin said. 

"And the North is sending a message of warning in advance, to prevent the leaders from criticizing Pyongyang too harshly," he said.

Seoul and Washington have persistently called on Beijing to exert more pressure on the North to abandon its atomic weapons programmed. 

But despite China's growing frustration with the North, it fears the instability -- and flood of refugees -- that a collapse of the regime would bring.

The North has often launched short-range missiles or rockets to express anger at perceived provocations, including military drills held south of border. 

In March, it conducted multiple launches of Scud missiles and rockets to coincide with annual joint army drills between Seoul and Washington. 

The North also test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles that flew 650 kilometers off its east coast, prompting a stern reaction from Washington and Seoul. 

South Korea had condemned the missile launches as a "reckless provocation" but stopped short of calling for UN sanctions.