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Task team finds Mi-17 helicopter downed in Wardak by ATGM
The Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of the Parliament) delegation, tasked to probe the helicopter crash in Maidan Wardak province in March, said in a report Tuesday that the Mi-17 military chopper had been hit by an anti-tank guided-missile (ATGM).
The delegation shared its findings two months after the Mi-17 was shot down during a military operation in Behsud district in Wardak. Four pilots and five security force members were killed in the incident.
ATGMs range in size from shoulder-launched weapons, which can be transported by a single soldier, to larger tripod-mounted weapons, which require a squad or team to transport and fire, to vehicle and aircraft mounted missile systems.
Government officials meanwhile accused fighters loyal to a public uprising forces’ commander Abdul Ghani Alipour, also known as commander Shamsher (Sword), of shooting down the helicopter.
Alipour has however consistently denied his involvement in the incident and stated in a sound clip: “We have nothing to fire one with from the air. Maybe those who are filming from the air shot it. If it was me, I would from the ground not from the air because we have only got RPG rockets and have no access to missiles.”
The Wolesi Jirga team’s findings meanwhile also indicate that the helicopter was hit by an ATGM capable of hitting targets in a range between 1.5 km to 5 km and that “the helicopter was hit from a distance of 3 km, which means ordinary rockets such as RPG or Type 82 rocket launcher is useless [at hitting] targets from this distance.”
According to the report, the missile is made by Russia and China, while Iran has also manufactured a copied version of the weapon.
The Wolesi Jirga’s findings, however, did not elaborate who was behind the downing of the helicopter but it stated: “When the missile was fired, the area was under the control of men loyal to Alipour.”
Meanwhile, a number of Afghan MPs stated that the findings lack details and accurate information.
“Neither Alipour has the capability of shooting down the helicopter using guided-missiles nor has he access to such kinds of rockets,” MP Ahmad Shah Ramazan said.
MP Shegofa Noorzai stated: “We want more clarity about the downing of the helicopter, the findings need more discussions and in the next sessions the main clues about how the helicopter was hit must be found out.”
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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
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