- 20 killed after army helicopter crashes in Farah
- Taliban claim responsibility for the attack
KABUL: More than 20 military and civilian officials died in an Afghan army helicopter crash, in the western Farah province, even as authorities scrambled to verify the Taliban's claims that they were responsible for the attack, officials said on Wednesday.
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| The helicopter reported crashed in bad weather |
The militant group said it had shot down the helicopter in the Anar Dara district of Farah -- near the border with Iran -- where they have presence. A spokesman for the army, Najibullah Najib, said that the crash took place when two helicopters were flying together, adding that more than 20 people were onboard at the time. However, he failed to provide any further details about the type of aircraft used or the cause of the incident.
Shah Mahmoud Nayemi, the deputy head of Farah’s provincial council, told reporters that the head of the council and deputy head of the army for the region were among the fatalities involved, while another official added that the head of the province’s election commission was also among those killed.
“The helicopter hit a mountain and we believe that there are no survivors among those who were on board,” he said.
A number of army helicopters, including one in Farah, have crashed in recent months in Afghanistan.
Helicopters are the major source of transportation used by troops and to deliver supplies to remote and volatile areas. Wednesday’s incident is a big loss for the army in terms of the number of casualties involved. Most of the helicopters used by the army for transportation purposes are second-hand purchases, built in the former Soviet Union. The US military which leads the war against the insurgents, has also provided the army with some combat helicopters.
In a separate incident, five people were killed and 10 injured in a suicide attack outside Afghanistan’s main jail in Kabul. Health ministry officials said they expected the toll to increase.