Russian helicopter crashes in Syria, two dead: Moscow

Opposition fighters prepare ammunition in the Al-Mushrifa area, near the town of Khan Sheikun in Syria’s northwestern rebel-held province of Idlib, during ongoing clashes with government forces on Jan. 2, 2018. (AFP/Omar Hajj Kadour)

Moscow: A Russian helicopter crashed in Syria on New Year’s Eve killing both pilots following a technical fault, Moscow’s defense ministry said Wednesday.
The Mi-24 military helicopter was flying to Hama, northwestern Syria, and there was no firing from the ground, agencies quote the ministry as saying.
“Both pilots died in a hard landing 15 km (nine miles) from the air base,” the ministry said, adding that a technician had been injured and taken to another air base at for emergency treatment.