US says 'early indications' suggest Azerbaijani plane downed by Russian air defense systems

The US has seen "early indications" suggesting that this week's Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash may have been caused by Russian air defense systems, the White House said on Friday.

"We have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

He said the investigation is still ongoing and is being jointly conducted by authorities in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, adding that the US had offered assistance with the probe.

Earlier in the day, MSNBC, citing two military officials, reported that that US intelligence indicates Russia mistakenly identified an Azerbaijani airliner as a Ukrainian drone and subsequently shot it down using an air defense system.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors among the 67 onboard.

While Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan launched investigations, Azerbaijani officials speaking to Anadolu attributed the crash to a Russian missile system.

The crash occurred amid Russian air defense activity against Ukrainian drones, and GPS jamming was detected in the region.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said he will not comment until the end of the investigation.