Turkish helicopter crash 17 dead

[hammarö]

Turkish helicopter down in Herekol mountains in south east Turkey. Special Forces lost 17 persons.

The Turkish state TV channel TRT says there there mountainly area with heavy mist. The area have heavy PKK guerilla activity. Intervju with Siirt guvernor Ahmet Aydin.

See Swedish

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article15754208.ab

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns- ... 3639.story

Seventeen Turkish soldiers killed in helicopter crash

2:48 a.m. CST, November 10, 2012

DIYARBAKIR (Reuters) - Seventeen Turkish soldiers were killed on Saturday when their helicopter crashed in southeastern Turkey due to bad weather conditions, the area's governor said.

The Sikorsky helicopter crashed on Herekol mountain, in the Pervari area of Siirt province, Siirt Governor Ahmet Aydin said.

The victims were members of the country's gendarmerie special forces and there were no survivors on board, he said.

The Turkish military has been carrying out operations on the mountain in recent months to flush out militants from outlawed separatist group the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have hideouts there.

Since summer there has been an upsurge in PKK attacks in southeast Turkey, notably in the Hakkari region.

Turkish jets and helicopters have pounded PKK positions along the border with Iraq and Iran for three days, killing 42 militants, Hakkari's governor said late on Friday.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which launched its insurgency in 1984 with the aim of carving out a separate state in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey.

[hammarö]

According info from following source

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/2 ... 93160.html

occured a crash near the Iraq border.

Earlier newly info reported from several newspapers reported of Turkey operations in northern Iraq.



ANKARA, Turkey — A Turkish paramilitary helicopter crashed Sunday in a southeastern region where troops are fighting Kurdish rebels, killing four security personnel on board, officials said. Eight others were injured.

The S-70 Sikorsky helicopter, belonging to Turkey's paramilitary police force, crashed while landing near an outpost in Hakkari province, close to the border with Iraq, the military said in a statement posted on its website. It was carrying four crew members and 11 security personnel.

The military said the helicopter experienced a loss of power and crashed. But Firat News, an agency that is close to the rebels, claimed the helicopter was downed by rebel fire.

Kurdish rebels have used northern Iraq as a springboard for attacks on Turkish targets in their decades-long fight for autonomy in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast. The conflict has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people since 1984.

[hammarö]

Helicopter crash in the Hakkari area was reported 22 July this year.

See Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/ ... JU20120722

During further search several helicopter crashes reported in the area during last year. This means long standing operation, not a short operation.

News:

Four Turkish soldiers die in helicopter crash

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey | Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:05pm EDT

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers were killed and eight were injured on Sunday when their helicopter crashed in southeastern Turkey near the Iraqi border, the military General Staff said.

The S-70 Sikorsky helicopter crashed after it appeared to lose power during a landing in a remote, mountainous area of Hakkari province, it said in a statement on its website.

Clashes have taken place in Hakkari in the past between the Turkish armed forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). More than 40,000 people have died in the conflict since the PKK took up arms against the state in 1984.

(Reporting By Seyhmus Cakan and Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)