ERBIL, Kurdistan Region-The military wing of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), the People's Defence Force (HPG), claimed responsibility for downing a Turkish helicopter on Friday in a statement published on its website. According to the statement, HPG forces succeeded in downing a "Cobra helicopter" belonging to the Turkish army in the southeast of the country, near the Iraqi border, early Friday morning. The statement also added that HPG forces have a couple of bodies of "dead Turkish soldiers." Turkish central command confirmed the "helicopter's crash" saying that it happened due to a technical failure. The military said that the helicopter was sent to the area to support its soldiers who were engaged in clashes with the PKK that saw six killed. The military has also confirmed the death of the two pilots, bringing their casualties in the incident to eight. The Turkish military is also claiming to have killed six PKK guerillas in the clashes.
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