Afghan army helicopter crash kills 25, including a top commander

An Afghan official says an army helicopter carrying senior officials crashed in bad weather, but the Taliban claim to have shot it down.

An Afghan police officer keeps watch at a checkpoint during the parliamentary election in Kabul, Afghanistan October 21, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
Reuters

An Afghan police officer keeps watch at a checkpoint during the parliamentary election in Kabul, Afghanistan October 21, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

An army helicopter crashed in southwestern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 25 people on board, including a top commander and the head of the provincial council key in fighting off a Taliban attack in May, officials said. 

Taliban insurgents fighting the Western-backed government said they shot it down. 

Two army helicopters were on their way from Farah province to neighbouring Herat when one lost control in low visibility and crashed into a mountain, Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told Reuters.

Among the passengers were Nematullah Khalil, deputy army corps commander for the western region, and Farid Bakhtawar, the outspoken head of Farah’s provincial council. The other victims, apart from the crew, were soldiers and council members, Mehri said.

Bakhtawar was a major figure in battling the Taliban in the battle for the city of Farah which the militants besieged and threatened to take over in May.

The Taliban are seeking to remove the government and reimpose strict Islamic law after their ouster by US-led forces in 2001.

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