Rebel site suggests insurgents shot down Malaysia plane by mistake

A social media site attributed to a top Ukrainian rebel commander said the insurgents had shot down an army transporter at the location where a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed Thursday near the Russian border.

“We just downed an An-26 near Torez. It is down near the Progress mine,” said the VK page attributed to Igor Strelkov, which is frequently quoted by Ukrainian media.

The rebels shot down another An-26 in rebel-held eastern Ukraine on June 14, killing 49 government servicemen.

The website did not identify the weapon used to down the plane, which Ukrainian officials said had been flying at an altitude of about 10,000 metres (33,000 feet).

But a post on the official Twitter account of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” – later removed – claimed that the separatists earlier on Thursday had seized a missile system called Buk from the Ukrainian army capable of downing a jet at that altitude.

Watch: Debris strewn crash site of Malaysian airline MH17 in Eastern Ukraine