NASSER KARIMI and JOSEPH KRAUSS
Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Saturday acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 people aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations and mounting evidence that it was responsible.
The plane was shot down early Wednesday, hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. No one was hurt in the attack on the U.S. bases.
The admission raised a host of new questions, such as why Iran did not shut down its international airport or airspace when it was bracing for a U.S. r
