On July 26, Oded Berkowitz, an Israeli intelligence analyst, released new satellite images revealing that an airstrike by the Government of National Accord (LNA) air force destroyed a warplane of the Libyan Air Force (LAF) last month.
The images, which were taken on June 13 and June 25, show how a GNA airstrike destroyed a Su-22 warplane of the LAF in al-Watyah airbase in northwestern Libya.
#Libya– on June 19 #GNA claimed to have destroyed an #LNA “fighter aircraft” on the ground in al-Watiyah airbasehttps://t.co/e5aoyX0Orj
Here are the photos:
Left- SU-22 parked outside hanger, June 13
Right – Same location – splash, June 25 pic.twitter.com/Kq2pFbD4eF— Oded Berkowitz (@Oded121351) July 26, 2019
The GNA air force announced the destruction of the warplane in a short press release on June 19. These claims were met with much suspicion back then, as al-Watyah is not one of the LAF’s main airbases.
“The air eagles of the GNA destroyed a Sukhoi-type warplane at Al Watya Air Base,” the press release reads.
A recent report revealed that the GNA air force destroyed two Ukrainian IL-76D cargo planes in the Al-Jufra airbase in July.
The high-precision of the GNA’s airstrikes suggest that they may have been carried out by Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 combat drones, which are known to be operating over Libya.
Could be fake news, more proof required than a couple of photos with a smudge.