The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) reported that it shot down a Myanmar military transport helicopter, which crash-landed after an attack in Kachin State. According to KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu, KIA forces targeted the helicopter on a football field near the headquarters of Infantry Battalion 56 in Shwegu town, using bombs and subsequent drone strikes to destroy the aircraft.

On Tuesday Irrwaddy reported, Colonel Naw Bu stated that two out of three helicopters delivering reinforcements and supplies to the Myanmar junta’s 21st Military Operation Command (MOC) in Bhamo were struck by rockets and drones during their mission. Resistance footage captured one helicopter’s rotors being hit as it attempted to drop supplies close to the ground, while another clip showed a drone striking a helicopter’s rotor blades.

One helicopter crashed in a forested area about 22 kilometers from Shwegu, another made an emergency landing in Shwegu, and the third returned to its base in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. KIA troops discovered a smoldering wreckage in the forest, along with the body of an individual wearing a name tag identifying them as Captain Myo Htet Aung. A KIA soldier reported finding 18 additional bodies inside the burned helicopter, along with 14 weapons. The soldier noted that the other bodies were too severely burned for identification, bringing the total to 19 fatalities.

Since the 2021 military coup, the KIA claims to have downed or destroyed five junta aircraft, including a Mi-35 combat helicopter in Momauk Township in May 2021, a Mi-17 transport helicopter in Waingmaw Township in January of the previous year, and an FTC-2000 G jet fighter that crashed in Kutkai Township in northern Shan State.

The battle for Bhamo, Kachin State’s second-largest city, began on December 4. Although the KIA and its allies have captured much of the city, the junta’s MOC 21 headquarters continues to resist, bolstered by air support from the Myanmar military.