The incident took place in the Behsud district late Wednesday, the TOLOnews broadcaster reported citing its sources. The Defence Ministry later confirmed the deaths of 9 troops in the accident.
Further details of the incident remain unknown, as there are conflicting reports about the causes of the crash and the current situation at the site.
Breaking - Nine people on board a special forces helicopter were killed after it crash landed in Behsud district, Maidan Wardak province, on Wednesday night, sources said. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/ZAi2xkHKEB
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) March 18, 2021
The situation in the country remains tense, despite a peace deal between Washington and the Taliban, signed in February 2020. Under the agreement that seeks to end the 20-year US war in Afghanistan, the American side is supposed to withdraw its troops from the country by 1 May.
At the same time, the Taliban vowed to prevent al-Qaeda* and other terrorist groups from establishing a safe haven in Afghanistan and also pledged to start peace talks with Kabul.
* Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group, banned in Russia
