At least 13 soldiers were killed when an Iranian military helicopter crashed near the border with Turkey on Saturday, Iran's ISNA news agency reported today.
A military officer was quoted by ISNA as saying two commanders, the pilot and 10 other soldiers were killed "on a mission to control the region" in northwest Iran.
Iranian media blamed the crash on bad weather.
The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, an Iranian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which is fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey, claimed it shot down the helicopter.
IRNA reported that 17 rebels were killed during the mission.
