An army helicopter has been “partially damaged” after the Taliban militants targeted it with a mortar fire near its landing site in Ghazni city, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed.
No crew member has been harmed in the attack, Rohullah Ahmadzai, spokesperson for the MoD, told Kabul Now on Wednesday, June 16.
Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, a member of Ghazni Provincial Council, meanwhile, confirmed the Taliban targeted the Black Hawk helicopter inside the Third Brigade of the army’s 203 Tandar Military Corps in Ghazni city.
The helicopter has been damaged as a result of the attack and no one was onboard when it was targeted, the local official detailed.
The Taliban, however, claimed they have shot down the army helicopter and a crew member has been also killed in the attack.
Located in southeast of the country, Ghazni is a volatile province where the Taliban control swaths of territories and launch complex attacks against government forces, even in its capital city.
This is the second army helicopter which has been reportedly damaged in Taliban attacks this month.
On June 09, the MoD confirmed that three crew members were killed and another one was wounded after an MI17 helicopter of the army crashed in Jaghatu district of Maidan Wardak province.
The Taliban, however, released a video footage of the helicopter’s wreckage claiming they have shot it down while it was providing supplies for government forces in the district’s center under the militants’ siege.
