Syrian helicopter crashes; activists say downed by Islamic State
BEIRUT - A Syrian military helicopter crashed Sunday at the northern air base of Kweiras, killing all of its crew, state TV said, as an activist group said it was shot down by Islamic State militants.
The TV report quoted an unnamed military official as saying that the helicopter crashed Sunday as a result of a technical problem while taking off. The report did not say how many crew members were onboard at the time of the crash.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Islamic State militants who have been laying siege to the base for months shot down the helicopter. The Observatory said one crew member was killed while the fate of the others remained unclear.
The Islamic State group posted a statement on a militant website claiming responsibility for downing the Syrian helicopter. The statement said "soldiers of the caliphate around the Kweiras air base shot down the helicopter at dawn with anti-aircraft guns."
