Two helicopters, 25 special forces personnel missing after Turkey’s failed coup attempt
ANKARA
Turkish soldiers search for missing military personnel suspected of being involved in the coup attempt in Marmaris, Turkey, July 18, 2016. REUTERS photo
Two helicopters and 25 special forces personnel, who were heading for a raid targeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the southern resort of Marmaris, have been missing since the failed July 15 coup attempt, Hürriyet writer Abdulkadir Selvi has stated.“Two helicopters took off on the night linking July 17 to July 18. It could not be determined where the helicopters flying toward a forested area in Marmaris took off from. But its aim [to raid Erdoğan] has been determined. The helicopters landed at an unknown location for a while and then went missing,” Selvi wrote on July 19.
“It was determined that the two helicopters took off to rescue 25-personnel special operation units who went to raid President Erdoğan but then fled to the forested area after they failed. The two helicopters and 25 people that hid in the forested area have not been found,” he added.
The president was on vacation in Marmaris at the time when a group within the military initiated a coup attempt in the country on July 15.