Taliban Claim Shooting Down Helicopter in Southern Afghanistan

The Ministry of Defense said two policemen and a soldier were killed as the helicopter made an emergency landing in the restive province on Wednesday evening. At least four security personnel were also wounded in the crash. 

Helmand provincial council head Ataullah Afghan said the helicopter crashed during an emergency landing after facing technical problems, but the Taliban claimed to have brought it down.

"The helicopter was shot down by our Mujahideen (fighters) in Washer district of Helmand province," media outlets quoted a spokesman for the group, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, as saying.

Helicopter crashes are common in Afghanistan, either due to technical problems or militant attacks.

In October last year, at least nine members of the Afghan military were killed when two army helicopters collided while transporting wounded soldiers in the same troubled southern region. 

The Afghan government has been battling a surge in attacks across the war-ravaged country blamed on the Taliban, despite talks launched between the two sides last year. 

The Taliban have threatened to resume attacks against US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan following remarks by President Joe Biden that he may extend the US military presence beyond the May 1 deadline for withdrawal.