Syrian Democratic Forces Say 9 Soldiers Killed In Helicopter Crash In Iraq

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday that nine of their fighters were killed in the crash of two helicopters in northern Iraq

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2023) The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday that nine of their fighters were killed in the crash of two helicopters in northern Iraq.

"While the two helicopters carrying our group of fighters were on their way to al-Sulaymaniyah city on the evening of March 15, 2023, they crashed due to bad weather conditions, leading to the martyrdom of nine of our fighters," the SDF said in a statement.

The statement added that SDF fighters flew to Iraqi Kurdistan to exchange combat experience.

The SDF called on the Iraqi Kurdistan authorities to help transport the bodies of the dead back to northeast Syria.

The United States backs Kurdish armed groups in Syria despite protests from Damascus.

The US military currently controls parts of the provinces of Al-Hasakah, Raqqa, Aleppo and Deir Ez-Zor, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located.

The Syrian government does not recognize the so-called autonomous administration of northern and eastern Syria, and calls the presence of the US military on its territory an occupation and its theft of Syrian oil � state piracy.

The armed conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011, with various insurgent groups, including terrorist organizations, fighting the Syrian Army to oust the government of President Bashar Assad.