Russian helicopter with infantry downed in Chechnya, 18 killed
27/04/2007 15:37 MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti) - Eighteen people were killed when a Russian utility helicopter carrying troops was downed in southern Chechnya at 11:34 a.m. Moscow time (7:34 a.m. GMT) during a special operation, a source in the Russian military said Friday.
Three helicopters carrying troops were sent to reinforce a federal task force fighting gunmen near the village of Shatoi, 30 miles south of the capital Grozny, the source said by telephone. One Mi-8 Hip utility helicopter was downed by automatic rifle fire as it approached the target area, he said, killing everyone on board.
The victims are believed to have served with Battalion South of the federal forces stationed in Chechnya. Most of its personnel are local citizens.
As fighting in the area continues, investigators have set out for the crash site to start an inquiry. Chechen prosecutor Valery Kuznetsov has warned against reaching any hasty conclusions.
"It is premature to talk about the causes yet," he said.
The attack is apparently the second deadliest involving a federal helicopter in Chechnya in recent years after the downing of a heavy Mi-26 Halo helicopter August 19, 2002, in which 127 on board were killed.
In most cases, federal aircraft in Chechnya have been downed using man-portable surface-to-air missiles, such as the U.S.-made Stinger, or Russian Strela or Igla, known as Gremlin, Gimlet and Grouse.
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