Syrian helicopter downed in Damascus clashes
AP
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network (SNN), taken on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, purports to show children killed by shabiha, pro-government militiamen, being prepared for burial in a mass grave in Daraya, Syria. According to activists' accounts, government forces retook the Damascus suburb of Daraya from rebel control three days earlier and have since gone on a killing spree. Reports of the death toll range widely from more than 300 to as many as 600. (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
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network (SNN), taken on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, purports to show children killed by shabiha, pro-government militiamen, being prepared for burial in a mass grave in Daraya, Syria. According to activists' accounts, government forces retook the Damascus suburb of Daraya from rebel control three days earlier and have since gone on a killing spree. Reports of the death toll range widely from more than 300 to as many as 600. (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
A Syrian girl, who fled her home with her family due to fighting between the Syrian army and the rebels, looks back while checking her laundry, as she and others take refuge at the Bab Al-Salameh border crossing, in hopes of entering one of the refugee camps in Turkey, near the Syrian town of Azaz, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. Thousands of Syrians who have been displaced by the country's civil are struggling to find safe shelter while shelling and airstrikes by government forces continue. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network, taken on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, purports to show people killed by shabiha, pro-government militiamen, being buried in a mass grave in Daraya, Syria. According to activists' accounts, government forces retook the Damascus suburb of Daraya from rebel control three days ago and have since gone on a killing spree. Reports of the death toll range widely from more than 300 to as many as 600. (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
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, purports to show victims killed by shabiha pro-government militiamen being buried in a mass grave in Daraya, Syria. According to activists' accounts, government forces retook the Damascus suburb of Daraya from rebel control three days ago and have since gone on a killing spree. Reports of the death toll range widely from more than 300 to as many as 600. (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
BEIRUT (AP) ? A Syrian military helicopter caught fire and crashed Monday after it was apparently hit during fighting between government forces and rebels in the capital Damascus, an activist group said.
State-run media confirmed the crash in Damascus but gave no details. A video posted on the Internet showed the chopper engulfed in flames shortly before it hit the ground.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reported the 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.
With its forces stretched thin by fighting on multiple fronts, President Bashar Assad's regime has been increasingly using air power against the rebels ? both helicopters and warplanes. The army has for more than a month been fighting major battles against rebels in Damascus and its suburbs while engaged in what appears to be a stalemated fight against rebels for control of northern Aleppo, the nation's largest city and commercial capital.
The rebels are not known to have any answer to the regime's warplanes except anti-aircraft guns that they mostly use as an anti-personnel weapon. Last month, rebels claimed to have shot down a Russian-made MiG fighter, but the government blamed the crash on a technical malfunction.
The Syrian conflict began 17 months ago with mostly peaceful protests demanding that Assad step down, but it has since morphed into a civil war. Rights activists say at least 20,000 people have so far been killed.
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