Turkish Military Helicopter Brought Down at Actions in Syria. A Turkish army helicopter has been shot down during actions against Kurdish militias in Syria. Two Turkish soldiers were killed, according to the Turkish president Erdogan.
According to the newspaper Hürriyet, Erdogan said in a speech that such incidents, unfortunately, occur in a war and that the perpetrators will pay a high price. State press agency Anadolu reports that the helicopter was shot in the southeastern province of Hatay near the Syrian border. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim later said that the aircraft was shot down across the border in Syria.
The Turkish army invaded the northwest of Syria on 20 January to expel Kurdish fighters. Kurdish militias YPG (People’s Protection Units) are, in the eyes of the Turkish government, an extension of the terrorist PKK. Turkey wants to switch off the YPG first in the Afrin area, near the border with Hatay province, and Manbij on the right bank of the Euphrates river.
According to the Turkish army, more than 1140 Kurdish fighters have since been eliminated. Last night alone, according to the army, 36 targets of the YPG were attacked, and 79 fighters were eliminated. The armed forces do not indicate what disabling means, but that must be killed or imprisoned.