Iraq: A mysterious helicopter crash in northern Iraq killed at least five people, including those allegedly linked to a banned Kurdish insurgency group, according to statements by the region's president and the Iraqi Kurdish-run counterterrorism agency on Thursday. Terrorists are also included.

The AS350 Eurocopter crashed on Wednesday night in the Chamanke district of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Dohuk province, according to a statement by the anti-terrorism agency shared on social media.

At least five passengers were killed, according to Lock Ghafoori, a spokesman for Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdish region.

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According to a post on Twitter by Ghafuri, security officials are still looking into who owns the helicopter. According to a crash scene investigator, who spoke to the media under the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation, there were at least seven people on board.

The anti-terrorist statement claimed that the helicopter was carrying PKK militants, who are members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party. No one has claimed the ownership of the helicopter so far.

The Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government had contacted the governments of Iraq, the US-led coalition and Turkey regarding the crash, but each denied ownership of the helicopter, the statement continued.

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The PKK does not have helicopters, according to PKK spokesman Zagros Hiva, who also said the organization was looking into the incident. In addition, he questioned whether PKK terrorists were on board, speculating that they may have been joined by fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish organization allied with US-led forces. Which would have been taken on the ship. A coalition helicopter.

The coalition, led by a United States spokesman, declined to comment, saying the crash was not related to the coalition's mission.

Turkish Defense Ministry officials said that initial claims that the helicopter was Turkish were "completely false" and that there were no helicopter flights operated by the Turkish military in the area.

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Since the 1980s, the PKK has been fighting for independence in Turkey, and is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the US and the European Union. Its militants have made safe havens in northern Iraq, where they are often attacked by Turkish tribesmen.