YPG Releases Video Purporting to Show Turkish Helicopter Being Shot Down in Syria's Afrin
YPG media unit uploaded the video to social media
A Turkish army helicopter was shot down by Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters near the north Syrian town of Afrin, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, while the Turkish military said two soldiers on board the aircraft had died, without giving a reason for the crash.
YPG sources separately confirmed the downing of the helicopter and YPG media unit uploaded a video to social media website purporting to show one of the Turkish helicopters flying over hilly area near Afrin being struck.
The Turkish military in a statement did not specify a reason for why the helicopter fell. It said two soldiers on board died and technical crews were investigating the crash.
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Ankara launched an air and ground offensive last month against Kurdish fighters in Syria's Afrin region on its border, opening a new front in the multi-sided Syrian war.
The downed helicopter was the first officially confirmed loss of a Turkish aircraft over Syria since the start of the country's long-running civil war.
