Russian helicopter shot down in rebel-held Idlib provinceAugust 1, 2016 - 14:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Russian military helicopter carrying five people was shot down in the north of Syria's rebel-held Idlib province on Monday, the Russian defence ministry said, according to Reuters. Russian air forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's five-year-old civil war. Images shared on social media purportedly showed a dead body stripped of his clothes and Russian identity documents taken from the crashed helicopter. The defence ministry said it was an Mi-8 military transport helicopter which had been shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way back to Russia's main air base in the western province of Latakia. Around 40 km north-east of the crash site, rebel groups are staging an offensive to break a government siege on rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo city. Pro-government forces on the ground are being supported by heavy air strikes in the area. Russia's defence ministry said the helicopter was carrying two officers and three crew members. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |