KABUL: Eight Afghan soldiers were killed when a MI-17 helicopter of Afghan National Army was shot down by the Taliban northern Afghanistan province of Baghlan early this morning .
Foreign media quoting Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri confirmed that five crew members and three army soldiers were killed in the crash.
The helicopter crashed in near Dand Ghori district while the helicopter was on taking supplies a military base, Waziri said. He blamed technical problem for the crash and rejected insurgents’ claims that they had downed the chopper.
Waziri further said that one helicopter was on the ground while a second was patrolling in the air above, when suddenly a technical problem caused the helicopter to catch fire and hit the ground.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement claiming responsibility for downing the helicopter in which he said the aircraft was shot down by fighters.
Provincial officials in Baghlan were also being quoted as saying that the helicopter was show down by the insurgents while supplying the military base with food, water and ammunition.
