Turkey Says It Shot Down Syrian Helicopter

WSJ online ^ | 16 Sep 13 | By JOE PARKINSON And AYLA ALBAYRAK

[elhombrelibre]

ISTANBUL—Turkey said one of its warplanes Monday shot down a Syrian helicopter that had violated Turkish airspace, underlining the regional combustibility of Syria's conflict despite a week of frenzied international diplomacy.

The Turkish military said that the Mi-17 attack helicopter strayed into Turkish territory and was warned repeatedly before Turkish warplanes scrambled and shot it down.

The confrontation marks the first time Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member, has shot down a Syrian helicopter, although Ankara has been scrambling jets to deter Syrian air power flying close to the frontier for more than a year.

[freedom462]

I am worried that Turkey’s government may have orchestrated this to drag us into a regional conflict which they can use to expand their influence and help bring about their own version of a militant Sunni state. Turkey is led by a government that is actively hacking away at Turkey’s secularist traditions and , like in Pakistan, it is a safe bet to assume that much of the Turkish military is sympathetic to hardline Sunni jihadists in Syria and nearby nations who want a Sunni caliphate.

[Tommyjo]

Nothing was orchestrated. The Syrians themselves admitted that their helicopter entered Turkish airspace while on a reconnaissance mission. The following was posted on the Syrian Government website

‘Damascus, (SANA) – A statement issued by the General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces said that a military helicopter was lost Monday Sept 16th , 2013 as it was carrying out a reconnaissance sortie to inspect the infiltration of terrorists across the Turkish borders in al-Younesieh area near Bidama town in Idleb countryside.

The statement said that inquiry showed that the helicopter mistakenly entered the Turkish airspace for a short distance and then it exited towards the Syrian territories after immediate orders’