At least one dead in Iran military helicopter crash

TEHRAN, Feb 24 (Reuters) An Iranian military helicopter crashed near the border with Turkey today, killing at least one Revolutionary Guards commander on board, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

''This morning while on a mission in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan the commander Saeed Ghahari was martyred in a helicopter crash,'' Fars said without giving a source.

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said eight people were on board the helicopter. It was not immediately clear whether there were more victims in the crash.

Iran operates an ageing fleet of aircraft mostly dating from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

REUTERS MS MIR KP1638