Russian Mi-8 Chopper in Syria Downed, All Officers on Board Dead

MOSCOW-A Russian Aerospace Forces’ Mi-8 Hip transport helicopter was downed  by terrorists’ fire in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib while returning from a humanitarian mission in Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday. Three crew members and two reconciliation center officers were on board the helicopter, according to Sputnik.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov  said that the crew members on board of  the helicopter died heroically in an attempt to minimize civilian casualties on the ground.

 “Those who were aboard the helicopter, according to information from the Defense Ministry, have died heroically because they were attempting to steer the machine to minimize the casualties on the ground,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He expressed deep condolences to the friends and relatives of the fallen servicemen.

On July 8, Daesh shot down a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter which was being piloted by two Russian officers.

In April, a Mi-28N Havoc helicopter crashed near the city of Homs in Syria, killing both pilots.

In November, another Mi-8 was damaged and destroyed by terrorists after an emergency landing during a rescue operation to save a pilot of the Su-24 bomber downed by Turkey over Syria. A marine was killed.

H.M