A Turkish military combat helicopter crashed on Saturday in northwestern Syria's Afrin during the ongoing¹ operation, and two soldiers were killed, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.

 

土耳其总理比纳利·耶尔德勒姆透露，一架军用战斗直升机周六在叙利亚西北部阿勒颇省执行任务时坠毁，两名士兵丧生。

 

It is not clear at this point whether the incident occurred due to an external intervention² or not. An investigation³ has been launched, he told journalists in southwestern Mugla province, local TV channel CNN Turk reported.

 

The Turkish helicopter was a T129 ATAK helicopter, confirmed Yildirim.

 

"We are looking into it. We are trying the determine the cause," he noted⁴.

 

In a statement, Turkish General Staff said an ATAK combat helicopter crashed around local time 1 p.m. (1000GMT) during ongoing operation in Afrin. Technical investigation is underway.

 

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the helicopter was downed in southern province of Hatay and that losses such as this incident were expected to happen in battle time.

 

Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul, Erdogan said "we might lose one helicopter, but they will pay a heavier price."

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