ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkish military helicopter crashed in Malatya province on Thursday, killing four soldiers, the defense ministry announced, marking the latest in a series of military aviation accidents involving Turkish personnel.
“Four of our heroic comrades-in-arms aboard our S-70 type helicopter have been martyred as a result of a crash in Malatya for an undetermined reason,” the Turkish defense ministry said in a statement, offering condolences to the victims' families.
The cause of the crash remains unknown.
Turkish officials and politicians expressed condolences over the deaths of the soldiers.
In November 2025, a Turkish Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane crashed in neighboring Georgia, killing all 20 military personnel aboard.
Other recent incidents include the crash of a Turkish F-16 fighter jet in the western province of Balikesir in late February, killing its pilot, and a helicopter crash during a training mission in the Gulf in March that killed three Turkish defense personnel and four Qatari military personnel.
