Armed men loyal to the local commander, Alipoor, have shot down an army helicopter in Maidan Wardak province, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) said, today, Saturday, March 20.
Fawad Aman, a spokesperson for the MoD, said in a tweet, posted today, that evidence shows that armed men loyal to Alipoor have shot down the army helicopter in Maidan Wardak. “The Ministry of Defense will take revenge at any cost and the perpetrators of this terrorist act will bright to justice.”
Last Thursday, the MoD confirmed that nine members of Afghan security forces, including four crews and five Afghan special forces, died in MI-17 helicopter crash in Maidan Wardak.
Mohammad Hussain Tawana, a man who is close to Alipoor, told Kabul Now that his armed fellows have shot down the army helicopter in Hesa-e-Awal Behsud. He said that they shot down the helicopter after security forces attacked their base in Hesa-e-Awal Behsud. Six men loyal to Alipoor were killed and two others wounded in a military operation conducted by the Afghan security forces.
An ethnic Hazara commander, Alipoor is an anti-Taliban commander who commands a group of armed men against the Taliban fighters. In late 2018, he was detained by the government for several hours but was released after a wave of protest by his supports in the capital Kabul.
A statement issued by the Afghan presidential palace said that President Ghani expressed his condolences with victim families of Behsud incident and assured them that the government will take revenge for the act.
