South Ossetia Claims It Downed Georgian Helicopter
September 03, 2006
Mil Mi-8 helicopters (file photo) (ITAR-TASS)
September 3, 2006 -- Authorities in South Ossetia say they shot down a Georgian military helicopter today, claiming the aircraft violated airspace that the separatist region claims as its own.
Separatist government spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva said the Mi-8 helicopter was downed by an anti-aircraft battery near the village of Isakykau after failing to heed demands to change its route.
There were contradictory reactions from the Georgian side. In Tbilisi, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Khizanishvili confirmed the downing of the helicopter, but he was subsequently contradicted by a local Georgian military commander, Paata Bedianashvili, who said a Georgian Mi-8 helicopter was fired upon but managed to return safely to base.
(AP, ITAR-TASS)