Iraq PKK downs Turkish helicopter in retaliation for commander’s death

The Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) announced yesterday, Monday August 17, 2020, that it had shot down a Turkish Sikorsky helicopter (possibly an S-70 Black Hawk) in Iraqi Kurdistan. The shooting, according to PKK, was in retaliation for the deaths of one of the PKK commanders along with two senior Iraqi officials following a UAV attack.

Also read: Turkey launches air strikes against PKK bases | VIDEO

Servest Aqrawi, the mayor of Kani Masi, the community where the helicopter crashed near the border with Turkey, confirmed the crash of a Turkish helicopter to the French Agency.

“Our forces conducted an operation against Sikorsky (…) helicopters and shot down one of the Turkish aircraft,” the PKK’s armed wing, the People’s Defence Forces, said in a press release.

Aqrawi told AFP that he was unable to confirm the second hit or the extent of the damage, given the difficulty of accessing the combat zone.

Also read: Turkish helicopter crashes on Turkish-Iraqi border | VIDEO

Since mid-June, Turkey has launched a new campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan, known as the “Tiger Claw”, with airstrikes and commando forces being flown to the area by helicopter to operate on the ground.

With information from: CNN.gr, arabnews.com

Also read: