The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that it lost a helicopter on 8 July in an incident east of the ancient ruins of Palmyra that was claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
The Islamic State’s initial claim that it had shot down a Russian helicopter was denied by the MoD. “All Russian combat helicopters deployed to Syria have safely returned to the airdromes on completion of their missions,” the TASS news agency quoted an MoD statement as saying. “There are no losses among Russian helicopters.”
The militant group then released a video showing a Mil Mi-24/35 helicopter firing unguided rockets before an explosion is seen at its tail rotor, causing it to lose control and crash 15 seconds later. The helicopter’s landing gear was visible, meaning it was almost certainly an Mi-35M with fixed undercarriage as an Mi-24 would be unlikely to be flying a combat sortie with its retractable undercarriage lowered. The only Mi-35Ms operating in Syria are Russian.
Islamic State fighters are seen operating a truck-mounted 57 mm S-60 anti-aircraft gun in Syria’s Al-Raqqah province in a photograph released by the Islamic State on 28 June. (Al-Khayr)
Another MoD statement reported by TASS on 9 July confirmed the helicopter had been lost with both crew members, although incorrectly identified it as an Mi-25 and implied it could not have been firing rockets when it was hit.
The statement said the helicopter had been on a test flight when Islamic State fighters launched an offensive that threatened to break through Syrian lines east of Palmyra. The helicopter joined the battle, expended all its ammunition repelling the offensive, and was heading for its base when it was “hit by militants’ gunfire from the ground”.
It identified the crewmen as Ryafagat Khabibulin and Yevgeny Dolgin without giving their ranks. Other sources identified the pilot as Colonel Ryafagat Habibullin, the commander of the 55th Helicopter Regiment based at Korenovsk Air Base, and the gunner as Lieutenant Evgeniy Dolgin.
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