Separatist insurgents in Pakistan’s resource-rich Balochistan province said they shot down a military helicopter that went down during a flood relief operation on Monday, killing all six on board including a top army commander.
A senior military official dismissed the insurgents’ claim as propaganda and fake news. The military said the helicopter crashed during bad weather.
The Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), an umbrella group of Baloch insurgent groups, said in a statement sent to Reuters late on Tuesday that its fighters shot down the “low flying helicopter” with an anti-aircraft weapon.
The group provided no evidence and Reuters could not independently verify the claim. The commander of the south Pakistan-based 12 Corps, Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, was among those killed on the helicopter.
Residents light candles in Quetta yesterday to pay tribute to the servicemen killed in a helicopter crash a day earlier. (AFP)
