Syrian rebels shoot down helicopter as Damascus clashes flare up again - Polidicks

[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19389028[/url] [quote=BBC News][B]Armed rebels in Syria say they have shot down a military helicopter over the capital, Damascus.[/B] The Free Syrian Army said the aircraft had been firing at people in the north-eastern district of Jobar, and that it had crashed in neighbouring Qabun. State television confirmed that a helicopter had come down in Qabun. On Sunday, opposition activists said government forces had massacred more than 300 people during their assault on the south-western suburb of Darayya. Video footage and photographs have emerged, showing scores of bodies, including those of women and children. State media blamed the opposition for the killings and said Darayya had been "cleansed of terrorist remnants". The chairman of the UN Human Rights Council's Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, told the BBC the killings might constitute a war crime. [B]Military offensive[/B] According to opposition activists, the military helicopter was shot down as it was bombarding Jobar, as heavy fighting broke out between rebels and government forces. Witnesses told the Reuters news agency the helicopter burst into flames after being hit by a projectile during an exchange of fire and crashed in a narrow residential street in Qabun. "It was flying overhead the eastern part of the city and firing all morning. The rebels had been trying to hit it for about an hour, and finally they did," said Abu Bakr, a local activist. Activists posted video footage online which appears to show a burning helicopter crashing to the ground. Rebels can be heard shouting: "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)." State TV confirmed that a helicopter had crashed near the al-Ghufran mosque in Qabun, though it did not say if it had been shot down. A spokesman for the FSA's Badr Battalion in Damascus, Omar al-Qabuni, told the AFP news agency that the body of the pilot had been found. "It was in revenge for the Darayya massacre," he added. The FSA also claimed to have shot down a Mig-23 fighter jet on 13 August in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour. The helicopter appears to have been taking part in an increasingly fierce attempt by government forces to regain control of the capital's suburbs, and heavy clashes are said to have erupted after it came down. On Sunday, military helicopters were firing rockets at Jobar and the neighbouring districts of Zamalka and Irbin, activists said. Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad has reiterated his claim that a "foreign" conspiracy is behind the uprising in Syria and promised that he would not allow it to succeed "whatever the price might be". "What is happening right now is not just a plot directed against Syria but the region as a whole, of which Syria is a foundational stone," he was quoted as saying by the state news agency, Sana. [img]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2012/newsspec_4009/img/damascus.gif[/img][/quote]

What did they use to shoot the helicopter down? Just thheir rifles/machine guns? or do they have anti-aircraft weaponry?

[QUOTE=Crash15;37426617]What did they use to shoot the helicopter down? Just thheir rifles/machine guns? or do they have anti-aircraft weaponry?[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure they have RPGs.

[QUOTE=jonoPorter;37426627]I'm pretty sure they have RPGs.[/QUOTE] probably ZU-23s aswell.

No scope 360 rpg to the cobra. ban rebels.

I saw footage of it on the news just now. That thing went down hard.

"a projectile" gee thanks

pfft this happens all the time in war why did this make the fucking news -Chenarus

[QUOTE=Zambies!;37427485]pfft this happens all the time in war why did this make the fucking news -Chenarus[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Chernarus;37211918]Not really, Syrian Army shot down a Turkish F4E with a ZU-23 at long range. The jet pictured was very vulnerable and was flying very slow. It got hit with a Dshkm or Zu-23.[/QUOTE] HMG, GEE etc...

[QUOTE=Charybdis;37427505]HMG, GEE etc...[/QUOTE] I played arma ya know what im talking bout

I think this is the video of it. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTKp2U0CtZw[/media] looks kinda like anti aircraft fire.

better camerawork than 99% of youtubers

[QUOTE=jonoPorter;37426627]I'm pretty sure they have RPGs.[/QUOTE] I doubt you can hit a helicopter on that range

I feel sorry for the pilots, the way that helicopter descends after a struggle on fire must have been horrifying.

[QUOTE=Niklas;37427759]I doubt you can hit a helicopter on that range[/QUOTE] black hawk down

[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37427805]black hawk down[/QUOTE] I believe they where at a much lower height when hit.

That's great footage! I think a hear an anti-aircraft gun in the background. Or it could be random AK fire.

Bring in the facepunch military experts.

[QUOTE=Falchion;37428072]Bring in the facepunch military experts.[/QUOTE] I'll light the Chenarus-Signal, we need him now more than ever.

[QUOTE=BusterBluth;37427904]I believe they where at a much lower height when hit.[/QUOTE] perhaps, we don't have any actual data about the altitude so anything we're saying is just speculation

[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37428365]perhaps, we don't have any actual data about the altitude so anything we're saying is just speculation[/QUOTE] huh? yeah we do. Black hawk down happened cause they were flying just barely above the rooftops. The heli in the video is clearly higher than that

[QUOTE=Aman VII;37428396]huh? yeah we do. Black hawk down happened cause they were flying just barely above the rooftops. The heli in the video is clearly higher than that[/QUOTE] uhhh bro... super-low level flights are actually an anti-RPG tactic because it's a lot harder to hit, since they're fast. [img]http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/graphics/rpg_range.gif[/img]

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;37427699]I think this is the video of it. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTKp2U0CtZw[/media] looks kinda like anti aircraft fire.[/QUOTE] Fuck I was wrong, that ain't no cobra that's a gunship.

[QUOTE=Radley;37429840]Fuck I was wrong, that ain't no cobra that's a gunship.[/QUOTE] It looks a lot like an Mi-17 to me. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-17[/url] They can sport a pretty healthy amount of rockets. [editline]27th August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=trotskygrad;37428803]uhhh bro... super-low level flights are actually an anti-RPG tactic because it's a lot harder to hit, since they're fast. [img]http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/graphics/rpg_range.gif[/img][/QUOTE] Aye, it also distorts the sound generated so you have very little warning before the helicopter is directly over you.

[QUOTE=BusterBluth;37427904]I believe they where at a much lower height when hit.[/QUOTE] Plus in BHD they had pretty much every man in the city armed with either an AK, or an RPG. That's a lot of RPGs flying at you.

[QUOTE=Zambies!;37427485]pfft this happens all the time in war why did this make the fucking news -Chenarus[/QUOTE] "We have BTRs that break the sound barrier if they descend a small hill, they are a bigger threat than any RPG projectile or helicopter." [editline]28th August 2012[/editline] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcZb3WOiKHI[/media] The militia must have found a way to utilize their infinite potential momentum without the use of a small hill.

Found this in the related videos. Some good footage from the rebels. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lekJavYXJg[/media]

being in a helicopter is one of my fears descending on fire and possibly still alive while the blades spin out of control and i would shit my pants

[QUOTE=GunFox;37429908]It looks a lot like an Mi-17 to me. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-17[/url] They can sport a pretty healthy amount of rockets. [editline]27th August 2012[/editline] Aye, it also distorts the sound generated so you have very little warning before the helicopter is directly over you.[/QUOTE] also because the only way to fly a helicopter is low and fast [I]~nap of the earth~[/I]

I hope for the pilots sake, despite whatever things he may have done prior in his life, that he was killed by the rounds that took the chopper down, cause there is nothing quite as horrible as being in an aircraft falling from the sky, nevermind it being on fire. Helicopters are worst because you know there is practically no chance of surviving the crash from high altitude when you're spinning like that.