Iran blames bad communication, alignment for Ukrainian jet shootdown

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian investigators are blaming a misaligned missile battery and miscommunication between soldiers and their commanders for the Revolutionary Guard shooting down a Ukrainian jetliner in January, killing 176 people.

The report released late Saturday by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization comes months after the crash.

The shootdown happened the same night Iran launched a ballistic missile attack targeting U.S. soldiers in Iraq over the American drone strike that earlier killed Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

The report may signal a new phase in the investigation into the crash, as the aircraft’s black box flight recorder is due to be sent to Paris.