Seventeen members of gendarmerie special forces died on Saturday when a skorsky type helicopter crashed on Herekol mountain near the district of Pervari (Siirt). The helicopter reportedly crashed during a military operation in the area.

In a statement on the incident, Governor of Siirt Ahmet Aydýn said that some other soldiers were wounded in the crash and added the helicopoter crashed because of adverse weather conditions.

People’s Defense Forces (HPG) guerrillas have shot down and damaged a number of skorsky and cobra type helicopters of the Turkish military in the recent period of intense operations and clashes. According to the balance sheets of war by HPG-BIM, one helicopter was shot down and six others were damaged in October, two shot down and 13 others damaged in September.