Helicopter crash kills 17 in Zabul

At least 17 soldiers, including five crew members killed in a helicopter crash in a remote region of the southern Zabul province on Thursday, officials said.

Taliban insurgents claimed their fighters shot down the helicopter, but a government official blamed a technical failure for the crash, just hours after a Taliban suicide bomb attack on an Afghan special forces compound killed six people.

Provincial police Chief Mirwais Noorzai said the cause of the crash was not yet known and was under investigation. The Defense Ministry said the crash was believed to be caused by a technical problem, but provided no further details.

“The Mi17 transport helicopter crashed, killing 17 people including 12 Afghan army soldiers and five crew members. It was not an insurgent attack, it crashed due to technical difficulties,” a senior army commander in southern Afghanistan said.

Afzal Aman, the Defence Ministry’s chief of operations said the helicopter was a Russian-made M-17, and was flying between Zabul’s capital Qalat and Shinkay, 20 kilometres away.

Aircraft crashes have been a regular risk for Afghan and foreign coalition forces, with troops relying heavily on air transport to traverse Afghanistan’s rugged terrain to fight the Taliban.

Gul Islam Seyal, a government spokesman also said that the helicopter was ferrying military supplies and troops when its pilot radioed in a report of technical difficulties minutes before it hit the ground and caught fire.

Afghanistan’s military has about 150 aircraft and 390 pilots, just a fraction of the air power of NATO, which flew air support, evacuation and supply sorties before last year’s drawdown of troops.