A minimum of 5 eliminated in strange north Iraq helicopter crash
DOHUK, Iraq– A strange helicopter crash in northern Iraq has actually eliminated a minimum of 5 individuals, presumably consisting of militants coming from an outlawed Kurdish revolt group, according to declarations Thursday from the Iraqi Kurdish-run counterterrorism company and the local federal government.
The AS350 Eurocopter crashed in the district of Chamanke in Dohuk province in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish area on Wednesday night, the counter-terrorism firm stated in a declaration published on social networks.
A minimum of 5 guests were eliminated, stated Lawk Ghafuri, representative for the federal government of northern Iraq’s Kurdish semi-autonomous area.
” The examinations are continuous by security authorities to figure out the ownership of the helicopter,” Ghafuri stated in a post on Twitter.
At least 7 were on board, according to a detective at the crash scene speaking on condition of privacy to go over the examination with the media.
The helicopter was bring militants coming from the disallowed Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK, the counter-terrorism declaration stated. No celebration has actually of yet declared ownership of the chopper.
Iraq’s federal government, the U.S-led union and Turkey had actually been gotten in touch with by the Iraqi Kurdish local federal government about the crash, however each rejected the helicopter was theirs, the declaration included.
Zagros Hiwa, a PKK representative, stated the group does not have helicopters and they were likewise examining the occurrence. He likewise called into question the existence of PKK militants onboard the flight, stating they might have a union helicopter bring fighters with individuals’s Protection Units, or YPG, a Syrian Kurdish group allied with the U.S.-led forces.
A representative for the U.S.-led union decreased to comment, stating the crash fell outside the scope of the union’s operations.
Turkish defense ministry authorities stated that preliminary reports that the helicopter had actually been Turkish were “totally false” which there was no helicopter flight coming from the Turkish armed force in the area.
The PKK has actually been waging a revolt versus Turkey given that the 1980 s and is thought about a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and the European Union. Its militants have actually developed safe houses in northern Iraq and often come under attack by Turkey in the area.
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Associated Press author Salar Salim in Irbil, Iraq, added to this report.
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This story was fixed to reveal that Lawk Ghafuri is the local federal government’s representative, not the local president’s representative.
