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Syrian Army Helicopter Crashes; Crew Captured By Rebels

Syrian Army Helicopter Crashes; Crew Captured By Rebels
Reuters
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ALEPPO, SYRIA - DECEMBER 17: A helicopter of Assad forces during the clashes at opponents' regions where Assad regime forces try to besiege, in Aleppo, Syria on December 17, 2014. (Photo by Salih Mahmud Leyla/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

AMMAN, March 22 (Reuters) - A Syrian military helicopter crashed in northwestern Syria on Sunday and at least four of its crew were captured by rebels, according to a monitoring group.

Video footage on social media showed a helicopter crashing in the distance. Photographs posted showed one of the crew apparently executed on the spot and an injured pilot taken by rebels from the wreckage.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence in the country, said at least four of the six- man crew were taken hostage by the al Qaeda offshoot, the Nusra front.

Syrian television said the plane encountered a technical problem and was forced to make an emergency landing and not downed as claimed by rebels.

The United Nations says the Syrian air force uses helicopters extensively to drop barrel bombs - improvised munitions - in indiscriminate attacks that cause widespread casualties in residential areas.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied in a BBC interview last February that his forces used barrel bombs. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by Ralph Boulton)

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Before You Go

War In Syria
(01 of20)
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Members of Free Syrian Army clash against Syrian regime forces in Aleppo, Syria on Dec. 8, 2014. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(02 of20)
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A Syrian girl who took shelter in Turkey sleeps on the ground before she crosses into Kobani through Mursitpinar border crossing in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey on March 6, 2015. (credit: Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(03 of20)
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A man prepares to attack Syrian regime forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Oct. 8, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(04 of20)
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A member of the Syrian opposition prepares to attack Syrian regime forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Oct. 8, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(05 of20)
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Smoke rises from the Dareyya district after a Syrian Air Force barrel bomb attack in Damascus, Syria, on March 6, 2015. (credit:Majd el-Ahmad/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(06 of20)
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Syrian oppositions attack Syrian regime forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Oct. 8, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(07 of20)
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Damaged buildings are seen following clashes between regime forces and the Damascus Front in Damascus, Syria on March 6, 2015. (credit:Salih Mahmud Leyla/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(08 of20)
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A Syrian man prays over the grave of his son, who was killed during shelling, at a cemetery in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma, on March 5, 2015. (credit:ABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images)
(09 of20)
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A member of Syrian opposition group linked to Damascus Front launches a rocket toward Assad's forces in Aleppo, Syria, on March 7, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(10 of20)
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A rocket is fired toward Assad's forces in Aleppo, Syria, on March 7, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(11 of20)
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A Syrian boy who took shelter in Turkey with his family crosses into Kobani through Mursitpinar border crossing in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey on March 6, 2015. (credit:Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(12 of20)
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Syrian fire fighters put out a blaze at the scene of a reported barrel bomb strike by Syrian government forces on the Qadi Askar rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, March 5, 2015. (credit:ZEIN AL-RIFAI/AFP/Getty Images)
(13 of20)
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Syrians inspect the debris of houses in Dareyya district after a Syrian Air Force barrel bomb attack in Damascus, Syria, on March 3, 2015. (credit:Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(14 of20)
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A rebel fighter holds his rifle inside a damaged building during clashes between regime forces and the Damascus Front in Damascus, Syria on March 6, 2015. (credit:Salih Mahmud Leyla/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(15 of20)
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Syrian opponents stage a missile attack against the Hemeimeem military airport, which was being used by the Russian military at the time, in Latakia, Syria, on Sept. 28, 2015. (credit:Ali Hafawi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(16 of20)
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Syrians search for survivors in the rubble of destroyed buildings following barrel bomb attacks by the Syrian air forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Oct. 8, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(17 of20)
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A man sits by a damaged building after Syrian regime army helicopters dropped barrel bombs in opposition-controlled territory in Aleppo, Syria, on July 16, 2014. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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A man carries a child following barrel bomb attacks by Syrian air forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Dec. 23, 2013. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(19 of20)
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A member of Syria's opposition group launches a rocket toward Assad's forces in Aleppo, Syria, on March 7, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(20 of20)
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A member of Syria's opposition group fires toward Assad's forces in Aleppo, Syria, on March 2, 2015. (credit:Saleh Mahmoud Laila/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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