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Afghan security officials inspect the scene of a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan on Oct. 31. (Hedayatullah Amid/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
KABUL — Nearly two dozen Afghans perished in the crash of a military helicopter Wednesday in western Farah province, including the deputy commander for the region and local politicians.
Military spokesman Noor Ulhaq Khaliqi said two helicopters were flying together in the rugged Anar Dara district where the Taliban are active, but gave no other details, But Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yusuf said the insurgent group downed the helicopter in a “direct attack.”
Among the dead were the head of the provincial council and the deputy commander of the army in the western region, according to Shah Mahmoud Nayemi, deputy head of Farah’s provincial council. He said the helicopter hit a mountain side.
The head of election commission for the province was also killed.
Najibullah Najib, another army spokesman in the region, said more than 20 people were on the helicopter at the time of the crash and he believed there were no survivors.
The Defense Ministry in Kabul had no immediate comment.
A number of army helicopters, including one in Farah, have crashed in recent months in Afghanistan. The helicopters are the major source of transportation of troops and supplies for these remote and volatile areas.
The crash represents a major blow for the army.
Most of army’s fleet of transportation helicopters of the army are aging machines from the Soviet era. The U.S. military which leads the war against the insurgents, has also provided the army some more modern combat helicopters.
Separately on Wednesday, five people, including police were killed in a suicide attack outside the main jail of Afghanistan in Kabul.
Health ministry officials said 10 other people were wounded. A security source said the casualties could go higher.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which came a day after the Islamic State said it was behind a suicide attack outside the election commission’s office in Kabul.
Afghanistan held parliamentary elections on Oct. 20, which were marred by attacks from both the Islamic State and Taliban.
Read more:
Afghans vote in parliamentary elections under threat by Taliban
In Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, delayed vote tense but peaceful
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