US fails to account for downed PKK helicopter in Iraq
The U.S. has tried to hide the fact that it has provided helicopter training to PKK terrorists and tries to avoid any questioning on the issue
Arecent incident has revealed the extent of the attempts to make the PKK terrorist organization grow beyond Turkish borders. On March 15, a helicopter crashed in Iraq’s Duhok region. Shortly after the incident, the counterterrorism force of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq announced that the helicopter carrying nine was a single chopper, a Eurocopter AS350 model designed and manufactured in France.
So far, everything seemed like a typical aircraft crash until it was revealed that some of the victims who died in the accident were “high-ranking” PKK terrorists.
According to the statement by the PKK regarding the incident, one of the pilots was Sherfan Kobani, a cousin of the PKK Syrian branch YPG’s top commander Ferhat Abdi Şahin (code-named “Mazloum Kobani”). Apparently, the terrorists trained and supported by the United States in Syria had somehow captured the helicopter and learned to fly it. Furthermore, the PKK stated that not one but two helicopters carrying PKK members had crashed in the region.
Of course, after this grave incident, eyes were turned to the U.S., which is the protector of the PKK/YPG. Two questions were crucial: Who did these helicopters belong to? Who put them at the service of a terrorist organization?
‘LAY TO THE DEAD’
On a question, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted that the U.S. did not give pilot training to the PKK/YPG. “As far as I know, we do not provide helicopter piloting training.”
It is useful to highlight the “as far as I know” part here.
France, the manufacturer of the helicopter, applied a similar “lay to the dead” tactic. Anadolu Agency (AA) recently asked the French Foreign Ministry, who owned the AS350 model helicopter manufactured by French Airbus Helicopters, that: “The serial number of the helicopter appears in the images reflected in the press. So, do the French need to know to whom this helicopter was sold to?”
As a response, the spokesperson of the French ministry said: “We have no comment.”
Of course, after these evasive statements, eyes were once again turned to the KRG. The KRG anti-terrorism unit has issued another statement regarding the helicopter on its official Facebook page. The statement noted that these helicopters were flying between the northern part of Syria and the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah and that the official institutions in the KRG were not informed about this issue.
There are plenty of allegations floating around. Some argue that the helicopter was given by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) political party, while others claim that the second downed helicopter was kept as a secret. However, there is the gospel truth and journalists working abroad do not give up on the issue. Especially the evasive answers given by the U.S. officials at the press conferences, once again reveal the seriousness of the situation.
Finally, the following dialogue between a TRT World reporter and a Pentagon spokesperson shows how stuck Washington actually is in supporting the PKK.
“I have a hard time understanding. Didn’t you know about helicopters that take off from the ground, which is a U.S. base with 1,000 soldiers?” reporter Yunus Paksoy asked, to which Ryder said “We weren’t involved,” adding that any questions about the incident should be directed to the PKK/ YPG.
Upon that answer, Paksoy asked whether the U.S. had any information on the issue.
“We weren’t involved. I choose my words specifically,” Ryder replied.
After this scandal, which broke out just a few days after the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) officials visited the PKK/ YPG, the statements of the U.S. remain “desperate,” so to speak.
Let the parties try to cover up this issue as much as they want, or let the questions suffocate. I am confident that Turkish intelligence will shed light on this dark incident down to every detail with its evidence.