The Kurdish guerrillas have shot down a Turkish army transport helicopter over the Zap region of the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

As the People's Defence Forces (HPG) reported in its daily statement, the Sikorsky aircraft was taken out of the sky on Monday night. The helicopter was on a landing approach to the resistance area of Şikefta Birîndara with troops on board when it was fired upon from close range. The aircraft caught fire and went into uncontrolled flight, and the pilot did not manage a crash landing. "All the crew members in the helicopter have been punished," the HPG said.

The HPG further stated that the "extremely effective strike" sent a significant message to the Turkish invading forces. This refers to the anniversary of the unilateral termination of the so-called peace talks with the imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan on the prison island of Imrali on 24 July 2015. On that day, the Turkish air force bombed the Qandil Mountains in Southern Kurdistan, thus initiating the end of the ceasefire declared by the PKK. A new all-out war against Kurds was unleashed, which continues to this day. In this regard, the HPG said:

"The colonialist and genocidal Turkey, together with all the fascist cliques from its state apparatus, launched an extermination attack on our people and our movement exactly seven years ago. Despite abundantly used special war methods, the Turkish state has not succeeded in achieving its chosen goal until today. Inspired by the unique and historic resistance of Öcalan on Imrali, the Freedom Guerrilla of Kurdistan put up great resistance with the spirit of Apoist sacrifice and became the hope of the oppressed peoples all over the country. The unique guerrilla struggle, which is the hope of our Chairman and our people, has destroyed all the plans of the fascist regime that wants to bring us to our knees. In the eighth year of this annihilationist attack, the guerrillas will continue their resistance even more resolutely and march to victory with full dedication."

The HPG statement also gave details of other guerrilla actions on Sunday. In the resistance area of Kokerê, a battle with occupation troops broke out for about thirty minutes after the guerrillas had been able to thwart an advance attempt. In Karker, an attack helicopter was targeted during an attack flight and forced to retreat. In Girê Amêdî, mobile guerrilla units carried out two sabotage operations against advancing soldiers. There is no reliable information on the number of casualties among the occupying forces as a result of these actions.

Attacks by the Turkish army

Regarding the attacks by the Turkish army, the HPG said that the areas of Girê Serbest, Saca, Sîda and Çemço, which are located in Gare, were bombed by fighter jets at least nine times over the weekend. The areas of Kokerê, Çemço, Girê Karker, Girê FM and Girê Cûdî were attacked 22 times by attack helicopters, and dozens of artillery shells hit Şikefta Birindara. In addition, intensive reconnaissance flights were recorded in the same area.