[quote=SD Realtor]I do agree it is hard to believe Assad would have ordered this as it doesn’t make much sense.[/quote]
According to a mercenary general interviewed by NPR last week the opposition forces took down a couple of Assad’s planes using Saudi-provided SA missiles, hence the response.
The general did not complain about a Wahhabi country handing SA’s around, presumably because the systems are calibrated to take out Assad’s military aircraft only – they can’t be used against civilian airplanes.