MOSCOW, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Russian aircraft with 14 servicemen on board went off radar near Hmeymim airbase in Syria Monday evening, Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"On September 17, at about 11 p.m. Moscow time (2000 GMT), the communication with the crew of the Russian Il-20 aircraft was lost when it was over the Mediterranean Sea, some 35 kilometers from the Syrian coast, on its way back to Hmeymim airbase," the statement said.