Daily Times

PESHAWAR: As many as nine people aboard an Afghan Army helicopter were killed after it crashed in Dand-i-Ghori District of Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan on Sunday.

The Afghan Taliban claimed to have shot down the helicopter. Their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on social media that his fighters were able to shot the chopper down.

However, Afghan security officials rubbished the Taliban claim.

“The ANA helicopter came down in Dand-i-Ghori district either at take-off or landing at a helipad in the besieged Qarghan area,” Baghlan Security Commander General Noor Habib Gulbahari was quoted by the Afghan media as saying. Sources claimed the helicopter was carrying weapons for the besieged forces. But Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman General Daulat Waziri refuted the claims and said the chopper was on a logistic support mission.

On Sunday, residents of Farah informed journalists that Naubahar and Berang areas, 11 km northeast of Farah had fallen to Taliban as the security forces rolled back to their safe stations. There were also reports of heavy fighting in Berang Toot and Ganhakan areas, only seven km outside Farah. A statement associated to the Farah Provincial Shura president claimed that Farah would soon fall to the Taliban if the government did not send reinforcements.

The fighting in Farah and Helmand is seen by some Afghan affairs experts as a clever move as gaining control of these provinces will cut-off Nimroz province from the rest of Afghanistan. The province will literally be at the mercy of the Taliban if the government forces did not send reinforcements to Farah and Helmand. However, Farah Police chief Colonel Muhammad Ghaus Malyar said, “The Taliban want to take control of at least one provincial centre and that is why they attacked Farah. However, commandoes have reached Farah to assist the security forces there. The security forces have halted the advancements of the Taliban,” Ghaus said.