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| Afghanistan |
| Taliban kidnap 11 from helicopter in Afghanistan |
| 2013-04-22 |
| A Turkish transport helicopter carrying at least 11 civilians was forced to make an emergency landing in a Taliban-controlled area in eastern Afghanistan, and the insurgents took all the people on board prisoner, including eight Turks and a Russian, officials said on Monday. The civilian aircraft landed in strong winds and heavy rain on Sunday in the village of Dahra Mangal in the Azra district of Logar province, southeast of Kabul, District Governor Hamidullah Hamid told The Associated Press. He said the helicopter came down in a gorge in the densely forested region, known for narrow gorges and rugged mountains, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Pakistani border. The Taliban fighters then captured everyone aboard the helicopter and took them away, Hamid said. In a telephone interview, Arsala Jamal, the Logar provincial governor, identified the prisoners as eight Turks, one Afghan translator and two foreign pilots of unknown nationality. In Ankara, a spokesman at Turkey's Foreign Ministry confirmed that eight Turks were aboard the helicopter but had no information on their condition or what had happened to them after the emergency landing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with ministry regulations. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 If the occupants were "trying to help those poor people" where their chopper went down, well, they know better now. If they were "trying to get money others left on the table," well, they know better now. Cold comfort either way... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2013-04-22 11:42 |