Afghan Military Helicopter Crash: 12 Soldiers, 5 Crew Members Killed In Deadly Crash

An Afghan military helicopter crash has left a total of 17 individuals dead, including 12 soldiers and five crew members.

According to ABC News, an Afghan military helicopter crash has left 17 people dead, and while the Taliban is claiming responsibility for the crash, it is currently unknown what exactly happened. The helicopter, a Russian-made M-17, reportedly crashed in a remote region of the southern Zabul province on Thursday.

Provincial police chief Mirwais Noorzai reportedly stated that the actual cause of the military helicopter crash was unknown, and that it is currently under investigation, according to Yahoo! News.

The Taliban reportedly released a statement on its website saying that the Afghan military helicopter was “shot down with a rocket launcher,” though according to Yahoo! News, the claim is impossible to verify and “the insurgents regularly exaggerate their battlefield gains,” though with the crash investigation still underway, the Taliban cannot be ruled out as a possible reason behind the crash.

This Afghan military helicopter crash wasn’t the only attack in the area on Thursday. According to ABC News and the AP, in eastern Logar province, a suicide bomber is responsible for the deaths of eight other individuals, and for wounding 12 more.

The attack reportedly caused a blast so large in the provincial capital of Puli Alam that windows in buildings up to 1,600 feet away were reportedly blown out. Spokesman for the governor of Logar Province, Din Mohammad Darwish, said that those killed in Thursday’s suicide bombing attack included three police officers and five civilians. Darwish went on to say that among the wounded were both civilians and five police officers.

According to USA Today, the Taliban also claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, saying in a statement that the targets were “military and paramilitary units.”

While the Taliban has been just as active as ever, claiming responsibility for more attacks besides the suicide bombing and the Afghan military helicopter crash on Thursday, it has been reported that the spiritual leader of the Taliban has been reported dead. According to an earlier report by the Inquisitr, Mullah Omar, known as the Chief of the Taliban and also for sheltering Osama Bin Laden during the time of the U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan, has been reported dead, and what’s more, was probably dead some two to three years ago.

As stated before, it is unclear as to whether or not the Taliban was responsible for the Afghan military helicopter crash which killed 17 people. Stay with the Inquisitr as more information becomes available.

[Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images]