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EurasiaNet.org
Nov 22 2014
Armenians Claim Special Operation Recovered Bodies Of Helicopter Pilots
November 22, 2014 - 11:48am, by Joshua Kucera
Armenian military officials say they have carried out a special
operation to recover the bodies of three crewmembers of a helicopter
shot down by Azerbaijan more than a week before. But their Azerbaijani
counterparts say that the reports of a rescue operation were a
disinformation operation.
The Armenian Mi-24 was shot down November 12 by Azerbaijani
anti-aircraft fire; Armenia says it was conducting a training mission
and Azerbaijan said it was preparing to attack.
The bodies had remained near the crash site, in no man's land near the
line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. Earlier this
week, international monitors from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe tried to visit the site and were unable.
On November 22, the de facto ministry of defense of Nagorno Karabakh
announced that a special operation had recovered the bodies: "Taking
into account official statements from the Azerbaijani side and the
complete lack of reason from that side, the armed forces of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic were forced to carry out a special operation
with the aim of ascertaining the fate of the helicopter's crew," the
ministry said in a statement. Two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in
the operation, while the Armenian side suffered no losses, the
statement said.
"Considering the great amount of enemy fire, these actions were
unprecedented in character and difficulty. All was done simply
fantastically, taking into account the considerable losses of the
enemy," added Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun
Hovhannnisyan on his facebook page. "It was a fantastic operation at a
world-class level."
The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense, however, denied that any such
operation had taken place: "This information is unfounded and is
deliberately spread provocation and lies," the ministry said in a
statement. "It is not excluded that the Armenian side will demonstrate
some remains of previous losses, presenting them as a body of pilots
of the downed helicopter to defraud the Armenian people."
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71061
Nov 22 2014
Armenians Claim Special Operation Recovered Bodies Of Helicopter Pilots
November 22, 2014 - 11:48am, by Joshua Kucera
Armenian military officials say they have carried out a special
operation to recover the bodies of three crewmembers of a helicopter
shot down by Azerbaijan more than a week before. But their Azerbaijani
counterparts say that the reports of a rescue operation were a
disinformation operation.
The Armenian Mi-24 was shot down November 12 by Azerbaijani
anti-aircraft fire; Armenia says it was conducting a training mission
and Azerbaijan said it was preparing to attack.
The bodies had remained near the crash site, in no man's land near the
line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. Earlier this
week, international monitors from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe tried to visit the site and were unable.
On November 22, the de facto ministry of defense of Nagorno Karabakh
announced that a special operation had recovered the bodies: "Taking
into account official statements from the Azerbaijani side and the
complete lack of reason from that side, the armed forces of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic were forced to carry out a special operation
with the aim of ascertaining the fate of the helicopter's crew," the
ministry said in a statement. Two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in
the operation, while the Armenian side suffered no losses, the
statement said.
"Considering the great amount of enemy fire, these actions were
unprecedented in character and difficulty. All was done simply
fantastically, taking into account the considerable losses of the
enemy," added Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun
Hovhannnisyan on his facebook page. "It was a fantastic operation at a
world-class level."
The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense, however, denied that any such
operation had taken place: "This information is unfounded and is
deliberately spread provocation and lies," the ministry said in a
statement. "It is not excluded that the Armenian side will demonstrate
some remains of previous losses, presenting them as a body of pilots
of the downed helicopter to defraud the Armenian people."
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71061