DIYARBAKIR - A Turkish helicopter on a cross border mission against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq crashed yesterday after suffering a technical failure, killing 11 military personnel including two high ranking officers, security officials said.
Officials from the emergency rule governor's office in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir said the Cougar troop carrier went down in Iraq's mountainous Zap region.
At least 10,000 Turkish troops, backed by air power, have been in northern Iraq since May 14th in pursuit of PKK rebels who use the region as a base to launch raids into southeastern Turkey.