Russian helicopter crashes in central Syria, two pilots die

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the deaths of two helicopter pilots on New Year’s Eve in Syria after a group of independent investigators reported the incident earlier on Wednesday.

The Mi-24 helicopter crashed due to a technical fault when the helicopter had to perform an emergency landing15 kilometers (9.3 miles) off the Khmeimim Airbase, the ministry said in a statement.

A flight technician was injured during the incident and taken to the airbase for treatment, it added.

The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), investigative bloggers who monitor the Ukrainian and Syrian wars, said on Wednesday that a Russian attack helicopter crashed in western Syria weeks after Putin’s pullout orders.

The rebel-held areas in the countryside of Hama have been heavily targeted by regime and Russian airstrikes for the past month.