Tue, Sep 05, 2006
US Senators Also Targeted In Recent Attacks
There are international calls for an investigation into Sunday's
forced landing of a Georgian military helicopter, after it was
apparently targeted by rebels in the breakaway region of South
Ossetia.
Reuters reports Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili wasn't hurt
in the ordeal, although footage of the Mi-8 helicopter (file photo
of type, above) showed several bullet holes on one side.
"A few shots were fired at the Georgian helicopter, but it
managed to land on the territory controlled by the Georgian side.
No one died," Paata Bedianishvili, commander of the Georgian
battalion in the joint peacekeeping force in the area, told the
independent Georgian Rustavi-2 television channel.
"For 10 to 15 minutes, we were actually plunging," said
Okruashvili. "But the experience of the pilot saved the
helicopter."
It's not the first time aircraft flying over or near Ossetia
have been fired upon in recent days. In fact, Georgian authorities
now say a helicopter carrying a US congressional delegation was
fired upon by a surface-to-air missile August 28.
The helicopter carried Senators John Sununu, John McCain, Saxby
Chambliss, Lindsey Graham, Mel Martinez and Richard Burr. The
missile missed the helo.
Sununu told the Associated Press he wasn't aware of any security
problems during the flight.
"We traveled with government security throughout our visit and I
don't know of any member of the delegation that noted any concerns
about preparedness or the capability of security provisions," he
said.
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