Kurdish Militants Claim Responsibility for Downing Turkish Army Helicopter
13:46 14.05.2016(updated 13:47 14.05.2016)
The People's Defence Force (HPG), the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Saturday claimed responsibility for downing a Turkish military helicopter, refuting the Turkish General Staff's claim that the crash took place due to a technical malfunction.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Friday, a military helicopter crashed in southeastern Turkey's province of Hakkari. Both pilots were killed. According to Ankara, the crash took place due to a technical failure.
"The Turkish general staff's statement on an accidental crash of the helicopter is not true. It was downed by us… because it belongs to the Turkish colonial troops and carries out operations against the Kurds," the HPG statement read.
Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 as fighting between the PKK, the Kurdish pro-independence organization considered to be terrorists by Ankara, and the Turkish army resumed. Ankara has imposed several round-the-clock curfews in Kurdish-populated towns, preventing civilians from fleeing the regions where the military operations are taking place.
© Sputnik
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