SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi authorities on Saturday launched investigations in the vicinity of the area where two helicopters crashed last Wednesday.
Two helicopters with nine people onboard crashed in Eastern Duhok province in chamanke subdistrict during Wednesday’s evening hours.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday claimed “While the two helicopters carrying our group of fighters were on their way to Sulaimani city on the evening of March 15, 2023, they crashed due to bad weather conditions, leading to the martyrdom of nine of our fighters, including the commander of the YAT forces Shervan Kobani,” it said in a statement
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced that it had sent a delegation to the vicinity of the area where the helicopter crash occurred.
“The delegation had launched investigations into the incident, preparing a report on that matter,” said the ministry.
The SDF is the United States’ major partner in Syria in the war against the jihadist groups and its (YAT) or the anti-terror units are a significant part of the forces.
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) President Bafel Talabani sent a message of condolence to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the anti-terror units of Rojava (YAT) following Duhok’s helicopter crash.
“The anti-terror units (YAT) played an effective role in the fight against ISIS militants in Rojava and protected the holy land of Kurdistan from terrorism and recorded a history full of pride,” Talabani stated.
“The PUK is proud of the glorious history, that the Counter-Terrorism Forces (CTG) struggled alongside the Rojava’s counter-terrorism units in order to protect the Kurdistan soil, recording heroic stories,” he added.
