SDF Says Commander Of Its Anti-Terror Unit Was Killed In Northern Iraq Helicopter Crash
On March 17, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that the commander of its Anti-Terror Unit, known as the YAT, was killed along with eight of the unit’s fighters when two helicopters crashed earlier this week in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
According to a statement by the Kurdish-led group, the helicopters crashed on March 15 during bad weather while en route to the city of Suleimaniyah.
The group added that its fighters were in Iraq as part of an “exchange of expertise” in the fight against ISIS. It identified the killed YAT commander as Sherfan Kobani, a cousin of its top commander, Mazloum Abdi.
At the end of its statement the group called on Iraqi authorities to hand over the nine bodies so they could be buried in Syria.
The SDF’s statement contradicts an initial report by the counter-terrorism service of Iraqi Kurdistan, which said that a single Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopter crashed in the district of Chamanke in Dohuk province. According to the report, seven people, including fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), were killed in the crash.
The United States-led coalition, the main backer of the SDF, the Iraqi government and the PKK all denied ownership of the helicopter.
With direct support from the U.S., the SDF controls large parts of Syria’s northern and eastern region including key border crossings with Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey considers the group and its core faction, the People’s Protection Units, to be an extension of the terrorist-designated PKK.
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