Helicopter crash kills 17 soldiers in Turkey

Published on 11/11/2012 00:00

A TURKISH military helicopter carrying soldiers on a mission against Kurdish rebels crashed because of bad weather yesterday, killing all 17 troops onboard.

Thirteen soldiers and four military crew members were killed in the crash in a mountainous part of ­Pervari district in Siirt province, in south-eastern Turkey, where the rebel Kurdistan Worker’s Party is fighting for self-rule.

President Abdullah Gul said the soldiers were on their way “to help their friends” in an operation against the rebels, who have escalated attacks in 
recent months. He added that the incident would not deter Turkey from its determination to fight the rebels.

The provincial governor, Ahmet Aydin, blamed the crash on heavy fog and ruled out an attack by the rebel group.

“The weather during the transportation of troops was bad. There was extreme rain. The helicopter crashed into rocks because of the fog,” Aydin said.

“The incident was the 
result of a crash and any kind of an attack is out of the question.”

The Kurdish rebels have been fighting since the 1980s and they seek more rights for Kurds, including autonomy in the mostly Kurdish south-east of the country. Turkey and its Western allies categorise the rebels, known by the acronym PKK, as a terrorist group.

Several days ago, Turkish media reported that Turkish soldiers were airlifted into northern Iraq for a brief operation against suspected rebels, who have bases there. There were no reports of casualties on that mission. Turkey periodically carries out artillery and air strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq, but 
reports of cross-border incursions by troops are rare.