US Black Hawk helicopter crashes in Kabul during Taliban training exercise killing three
- Three people were killed in a helicopter crash during a Taliban training exercise
- The chopper crashed in Kabul due to a ‘technical problem,’ defence officials say
- Five people were also injured when the US-made helicopter crashed on Saturday
Three people have been killed and five injured during a Black Hawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
The chopper crashed during a Taliban training exercise in Kabul due to a ‘technical problem,’ the group’s defence ministry said on Saturday.
Video of the crash shows the helicopter seemingly nose-dive before it hit the ground, spewing debris.
Other footage shared on Twitter showed a cloud of smoke billowing around the alleged crash site.
The crash comes as three civilians were injured when a bicycle bomb exploded in the capital city. The incidents are not believed to be connected.
Three people have been killed and five injured during a Black Hawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan
Video shared on Twitter showed a cloud of smoke billowing around the crash site
Enayatullah Khwarizmi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence, confirmed the crash, saying: ‘An American Black Hawk helicopter, which was flown … for training, crashed due to a technical problem inside the campus of the National Defence University.’
The Taliban took control of some American-made aircraft after they seized the country in mid-August last year. It remains unclear how many are operational.
US forces deliberately damaged some military hardware as they left and Afghan forces had flown some helicopters to central Asian nations, including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Afghan air force pilots and their US counterparts played a key role in the 20-year war against Taliban insurgents.
The pilots led airstrikes that inflicted heavy causalities among Taliban troops and drove them from positions that the group had seized in various parts of the country.
Dozens of pilots fled the country as the US-backed Afghan government collapsed just over a year ago.
The chopper crashed during a Taliban training exercise in Kabul due to a ‘technical problem,’ the group’s defence ministry said on Saturday
Video of the crash shows the helicopter seemingly nose-dive before it hit the ground, spewing debris
Separately, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran told The Associated Press on Saturday that three people were injured when a bicycle bomb exploded in the Shai neighbourhood.
No one immediately took responsibility for the blast. However the Islamic State (IS) has recently claimed similar attack in Afghanistan.
The extremist group has reportedly waged a ‘bloody campaign of attacks’ on Taliban targets and minority groups.
IS has been particularly targeting the Shiites whom they consider to be heretics.
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