LONDON: The Syrian Ministry of Defense expressed its deep sorrow and grief after a Turkish army helicopter crashed in Malatya province on Thursday, killing four military personnel. The ministry extended its condolences and sympathy to the leadership, armed forces and people of Turkiye for the loss of lives, and affirmed its solidarity with the country, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Announcing the crash, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said: “Four of our heroic comrades-in-arms on board were martyred when our S-70 helicopter crashed in Malatya for reasons that have not yet been determined.” Search and rescue operations began immediately after the crash, and the wreckage of the Sikorsky S-70 was discovered in the Yesilyurt district of Malatya, in Turkiye’s eastern Anatolia region.