Israel announces missile test as cause of Russian reports

JERUSALEM - Israel's Defense Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday admitting to have successfully tested an "Ankor" target missile in the Mediterranean Sea, following a Russian report of two ballistic missiles launched in the area.

The testing of the missile, part of the "Hetz" anti-missile and radar tracking system, was conducted in cooperation with the United States' Defense Agency and was successful, according to a ministry spokesperson.

The spokesperson also confirmed to Xinhua that the test is what triggered the Russian radars and resulted in the issuing of the statement by the Russian Defense Ministry about a missile launch in the Mediterranean.

According to the statement, the experiment took place at 9:15 am (GMT 0615), whereas the Russia's report of missiles detected was set at 9:16 am local time.