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. But Firat News, an agency 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.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 07/23/2012