Syria bans Turkish civilian flights to pass over

DAMASCUS - The Syrian government issued a ban on Saturday, prohibiting Turkish civilian flights to pass over the Syrian territories, according to the state-run SANA news agency.

The move has come in retaliation to the grounding of a Syrian civilian plane last Wednesday by Turkish government, which alleged that the Syrian flight carried Russian military gears distended for the Syrian ministry of defense.

The Syrian passenger plane was en route to Damascus from Moscow.

Both Syria and Russia chided the Turkish move and the Syrian Information Ministry challenged the Turkish government on Thursday to display the confiscated gears in public to prove his claims.