All 26 security personnel aboard a Pakistani military helicopter were killed in a crash in the country's restive tribal belt even as the Taliban today claimed responsibility for downing it. The Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter came down yesterday about 20 km from the northwestern city of Peshawar at a spot located along the boundary of the Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions, official sources said.
The sources said 26 security personnel on board the helicopter were killed. They said the helicopter crashed due to a technical fault. Authorities are conducting an investigation into the incident, sources said. Military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said the helicopter had crashed due to a "technical fault."
However, a Taliban spokesman claimed the helicopter was shot down by militants. "We shot down the helicopter," the spokesman was quoted as saying in the media. He said the targeting of the the Pakistani helicopter was in retaliation for the ongoing military operation in South Waziristan.
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