ISLAMABAD: At least 12 people were killed Thursday when a helicopter belonging to the army crashed in northwest Pakistan, officials said.
Bodies were recovered from the site of the accident near Mansehra town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, around 170 km north of Islamabad, said senior police official Nujeebur Rehman.
Two security officials said there appeared to be no link to militant activity.
The charred corpses were burnt beyond recognition and the aircraft, which was carrying aid supplies, was still on fire in the evening, he added.
“An army helicopter carrying relief items crashed around 35 km northwest of Mansehra this evening. Eight dead bodies have been found,” Rehman told AFP.
“The accident occurred in a hilly area that is not easily accessible — the helicopter is still on fire,” he said.
An official of the military’s media wing confirmed the incident, adding that the helicopter was carrying relief items and medicines to the northern city of Gilgit.
The accident comes after a helicopter of the Pakistan air force crashed in the flood-hit district of Chitral, although no causalities were reported.
The Russian-built Mi-17, used by air forces across the world, has had a patchy safety record in recent years.
In May, an Mi-17 army helicopter crashed at a holiday resort in the picturesque hills of Gilgit killing seven people, including two ambassadors.
Known for its spectacular mountain ranges, Gilgit-Baltistan is a strategically important autonomous region that borders China, Afghanistan and Indian-held Kashmir.
12 killed in Pak military helicopter crash
12 killed in Pak military helicopter crash
Two killed in suicide attack targeting security forces in Pakistan’s northwest
ISLAMABAD: Two security personnel, including an officer, were killed, while multiple others sustained injuries when a suicide blast targeted their vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said.
The suicide bomber hit his explosive-laden motorbike into an armored vehicle of security forces in Sara Darga area of KP’s Bannu district, according to a local police official who requested anonymity.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have carried out similar assaults in the region in past.
“The attack had damaged the armored vehicle, causing deaths and injuries,” he told Arab News, adding that they suspected the Pakistani Taliban to be behind the attack.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, in recent years, with militant groups, particularly the TTP, frequently targeting security forces, law enforcers and government officials in the region.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Taliban militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpoint jointly manned by security forces and law enforcement agencies in KP’s Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel among 12 people, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
