Asia

Asia

Islamic State group downs Iraqi attack helicopter

04 October 2014 00:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Islamic State group militants armed with a rocket launcher shot down an Iraqi military attack helicopter Friday, killing two pilots and raising new worries about their ability to attack aircraft amid ongoing U.S.-led airstrikes, APA reports quoting Associated Press.

The Mi-35 helicopter crashed outside the town of Beiji, 200 kilometers (130 miles) north of Baghdad and home to Iraq's largest oil refinery, authorities said. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told state-run Iraqiyya TV that the crash killed the helicopter's two pilots and that authorities had begun an investigation.

An official with the Defense Ministry told The Associated Press the militants downed the between the towns of Beiji and al-Senniyah. An official with the Iraqi air force corroborated the information, saying the helicopter's pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash.

Both Iraqi officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak with journalists.

Supporters of the Islamic State group on social media also reported the helicopter being shot down.

Iraq is facing its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops amid the blitz offensive launched by al-Qaida breakaway Islamic State group, which captured large swaths of land in the country's west and north, including Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul. It has carved out a proto-state on the territory it holds between Syria and Iraq, ruling with its own harsh interpretation of Shariah law.