Afghan ministry says helicopter crash kills 2 crewmembers during patrol in country’s north

ISLAMABAD — An Afghan army helicopter crashed in the country’s north Sunday after hitting an influence line base, killing a minimum of two crewmembers, the Defense Ministry mentioned.

The MD-530 chopper was once patrolling in the realm after it took off from northern Balkh province and crashed in the Kholim district in Samangan province, a ministry remark mentioned.

Officials mentioned the chopper hit the bottom of a prime voltage energy line sooner than crashing.

It’s unclear what number of helicopters, together with U.S. choppers, are in the arms of the Taliban-run govt. As the U.S.-backed Afghan govt collapsed in mid-August 2021, dozens of Afghan pilots fled to Central Asian nations, together with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Afghan air pressure pilots performed a key function, along their U.S. opposite numbers, in the 20-year struggle in opposition to Taliban insurgents. The war ended with the departure of international troops from Afghanistan in 2021. Helicopter airstrikes inflicted heavy casualties a few of the Taliban and time and again drove them from positions they’d seized in other portions of the rustic.

After the Taliban took over the rustic, about 140 Afghan pilots and others had been flown out of Tajikistan to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates en path to their ultimate vacation spot in the U.S.