Posted on 03/17/2012 10:09:36 AM PDT by JerseyanExile
A Turkish military helicopter crashed into a house near the Afghan capital Friday, killing 12 Turkish soldiers on board and four Afghan civilians on the ground, officials said.
It was by far the deadliest incident involving Turkish soldiers in Afghanistan, where they have a noncombat role.
The helicopter, a Sikorsky, was on a mission for U.S.-led NATO forces when it went down near Kabul, the Turkish military said in a statement.
"Twelve of our military personnel on board were martyred," it said.
There was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash, NATO said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the helicopter was one of two that took off on Friday. "Unfortunately, the one in front came down for an unknown reason," he said.
He said there were officers and noncommissioned officers on board.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters it appeared that the helicopter crashed while trying to make an emergency landing and that the pilot tried to avoid houses.
"It is a grave accident. Our grief is deep," he said. The helicopter clipped one house and then crashed into another, said Sayed Qayum, an Afghan resident who witnessed the aircraft go down.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
They are such Animals over there, they probably thought it was one of Ours, and shot it down.
A Sikorski? What nation builds it? I have an idea.
IDK, just do not trust anything that happens over there.
RIP.
I guess when they're Turkish, they're Turkish, but when they're American, they're "NATO".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.