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Online version of New Straits Times story:


 * 'Exclusive on MH17: Missile, cannon brought down jet?
 * ''BY HARIS HUSSAIN AND TASNIM LOKMAN - 6 AUGUST 2014 @ 8:09 AM
 * http://www.nst.com.my/node/20494


 * ''KUALA LUMPUR: The Ukrainian authorities have denied any airborne Ukrainian Armed Forces jet fighters activity during the time of crash stating that there was an absence of activities of aviation in this region.
 * ''This follows statement released by the Russian Defence Ministry that their air traffic control had recorded Ukrainian Air Force activities in the area of flight MH17 the same day.
 * ''They also denied all allegations made by the Russian government stating the country’s core interest in ensuring an immediate, comprehensive, transparent and unbiased international investigation into the tragedy by establishing a state commission including experts from ICAO and Eurocontrol.
 * ''“We have all evidences that the plane was downed by Russia-backed terrorist with a “BUK-M” SAM system (NATO reporting name - SA-11), which together with the crew had been supplied from Russia. This was all confirmed by their intelligence, intercepted telephone conversations of the terrorist and satellite pictures.
 * ''“At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have never used any anti-aircraft missiles since the Anti-Terrorist operations (ATO) started (early April),” the statement read.
 * ''Its authorities said that their military personnel had not taken any active military actions in the area around the crash site. They have also stopped with military action in a 10km zone around the path through which the Organization for Security and Co-operation experts are moving.
 * ''They said despite the dreadful tragedy, terrorist had yet stop the violence and continued their subversive activities and armed assaults on the Ukrainian militaries and residential areas.
 * ''Its authorities urged the international community to apply maximum political pressure on Russia in order to make them withdraw the terrorist from their state in order to allow experts a full and unimpeded access to the crash site for a more comprehensive investigation.

Summary by RIA Novosti:


 * 'MH17 Brought Down by Air-to-Air Missile, Finished Off by 30-mm Cannon, Experts Allege
 * http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140806/191783761/MH17-Brought-Down-by-Air-to-Air-Missile-Finished-Off-by-30-mm.html


 * ''MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) – The Malaysian Boeing plane that crashed in eastern Ukraine in mid-July, could have been brought down by an air-to-air missile and a cannon of the Su-25 fighter that had been “shadowing it,” The New Straits Times reported on Wednesday citing experts.
 * ''Experts believe that MH17 flight was shot down by an air-to-air missile fired from the fighter that later finished it off with a burst of 30mm cannon fire, the newspaper has reported.
 * ''According to the experts, if this hypothesis is true, it would explain the bullet holes in some sections of MH17’s fuselage.
 * ''“Some showed blast patterns consistent with shrapnel from a proximity-fused weapon while some showed the more precise grouping consistent with that of cannon fire. We’re analyzing this,” said one of the sources, adding that a detailed analysis of the pieces of the jetliner is needed to corroborate this emerging theory.
 * ''Under this new version, the heat-seeker would have aimed at the hottest part of the aircraft's engines. These claims rule out the previous version that the aircraft had been downed by the BUK missile system (NATO SA-11 'Gadfly').
 * ''“A BUK-M1, with its 70 kg head, would have been enough bring down the airliner without the need to go in for a guns kill,” the sources said.
 * ''The Sukhoi Su-25 close-air support aircraft (NATO Frogfoot) has a maximum service ceiling of about 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). It has an internally mounted 30mm cannon for anti-armor work, the report said.
 * ''“The Su-25 would have been operating at the extreme corner of its performance envelope but it’s entirely possible,” the sources added.