BEIRUT (AP) — Video posted on the Internet shows a Syrian military helicopter engulfed in flames and spinning out of control, shortly before hitting the ground in Damascus amid bursts of gunfire near a mosque.
Activists say the chopper was apparently hit during fighting between government forces and rebels.
There have been claims of rebel fighters shooting down helicopter gunships in the past, although Syria's government has never confirmed it.
The activists say there had been intense fighting between troops backed by helicopter gunships and rebels in a western Damascus neighborhood.
Syrian state-run media confirmed the crash, in an area that is a hotbed of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. But the reports gave no details about the cause of the crash.
Over the weekend, there was mounting evidence of mass killings by government forces in a Damascus suburb. Activists said regime forces had gone on a killing rampage after seizing the suburb from rebels. Reports of the death toll ranged from more than 300 to as many as 600.
Video posted on the Internet by activists showed rows of bodies.
In the north, thousands of Syrians fleeing the violence are stuck at the border with Turkey, while Turkish authorities try to build more camps to accommodate them.
%@AP Links
247-r-13-(Sound purported to be gunfire on helicopter that is on fire and falling with video camera operator shouting in Arabic, "God is great", from amateur video)--Sound purported to be gunfire on helicopter that is on fire and falling with video camera operator shouting in Arabic, "God is great". ((The AP cannot independently verify the authenticity of this sound.)) (27 Aug 2012)
<<CUT *247 (08/27/12)>> 00:13
213-a-12-(Alexia Jade, Syrian opposition activist, in Sky News interview)-"actually shot down"-Syrian opposition activist Alexia Jade says a helicopter that went down in Damascus had been flying around the city since the early morning. (27 Aug 2012)
<<CUT *213 (08/27/12)>> 00:12 "actually shot down"
APPHOTO CAI104: This citizen journalism image made from video provided by Shaam News Network SNN and taken on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, purports to show a Syrian military helicopter on fire and falling to the ground after it was apparently hit during fighting between government forces and rebels in the capital Damascus, Syria. The helicopter's downing comes amid a widening government offensive to recapture districts in Damascus and its suburbs that have fallen into rebel hands. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS CITIZEN JOURNALIST IMAGE (27 Aug 2012)
<<APPHOTO CAI104 (08/27/12)>>
APPHOTO CAI102: This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, purports to show a Syrian military helicopter that caught fire and crashed after it was apparently hit during fighting between government forces and rebels in the capital Damascus, Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reported the chopper crash, said there was intense fighting between troops backed by helicopter gunships and rebels in the western Damascus neighborhood of Jobar. State media said the chopper crashed in al-Qaboun district, which is close to Jobar.(AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS CITIZEN JOURNALIST IMAGE (27 Aug 2012)
<<APPHOTO CAI102 (08/27/12)>>
