Probe launched into helicopter crash

HAKKARI

Handout photo from Armed Forces

The Turkish Armed Forces have announced they have launched a probe into the causes behind the helicopter crash that killed 17 soldiers on Nov.10.
 
The cause of the crash will be clarified following the probe, Armed Forces said in a statement realeased soon after the incident took place.

Siirt Governor Ahmet Aydin earlier ruled out any chances of a terrorist attack as the cause. The helicopter crashed straight into the rocks due to foggy weather, according to Aydin.

"We have reached the bodies," Aydin said. "The cause of the crash is a hundred percent the fog."

17 Turkish soldiers killed as army helicopter crashes

Seventeen soldiers were killed this morning in the southeastern province of Siirt’s Pervari district when their Sikorsky military helicopter crashed, Doğan news agency has reported.

All the soldiers on board were killed.

42 PKK militans killed in operations in southeast Turkey

Meanwhile, 42 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been killed during operations conducted in the eastern province of Hakkari's Şemdinli district by the Turkish Armed Forces, according to a statement released by the Hakkari Governor's Office.

In a statement released Nov. 9, the governor's office said weaponry including rocket launchers, mortar bombs and explosives used by the PKK militants were also confiscated.

Operations launched by the army in the region on Nov. 7 are still continuing.