Taliban Take Credit for Fatal Pakistani Helicopter Crash

A helicopter crash killed seven in Pakistan on Friday, and now the Taliban is taking credit for it.

Pakistani army Mi-17 helicopters fly during a rehearsal for the National Day celebrations, in Islamabad on March 20, 2015. A joint military parade of Pakistan's armed forces will take place on Pakistan Day which falls on March 23, after a gap of seven years.  AFP PHOTO / Farooq NAEEM        (Photo credit should read FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)
Pakistani army Mi-17 helicopters fly during a rehearsal for the National Day celebrations, in Islamabad on March 20, 2015. A joint military parade of Pakistan's armed forces will take place on Pakistan Day which falls on March 23, after a gap of seven years. AFP PHOTO / Farooq NAEEM (Photo credit should read FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)
Pakistani army Mi-17 helicopters fly during a rehearsal for the National Day celebrations, in Islamabad on March 20, 2015. A joint military parade of Pakistan's armed forces will take place on Pakistan Day which falls on March 23, after a gap of seven years. AFP PHOTO / Farooq NAEEM (Photo credit should read FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)

The Pakistan Taliban is taking credit for shooting down a Pakistan military helicopter Friday morning, killing seven passengers, including ambassadors from the Philippines and Norway and the wives of the ambassadors from Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Pakistan Taliban is taking credit for shooting down a Pakistan military helicopter Friday morning, killing seven passengers, including ambassadors from the Philippines and Norway and the wives of the ambassadors from Malaysia and Indonesia.

The army helicopter was on its way to Naltar, in northern Pakistan, for the inauguration of a 180-seat ski-lift that was donated by Switzerland and installed by the Pakistani military. The chairlift project the envoys were on their way to visit, which was completed in August, is supposed to be boost tourism in the region, which is not normally considered to be a Taliban stronghold.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was slated to meet the group in Naltar for the ceremony. The doomed helicopter never made it; instead, it crashed while attempting to make an landing in the mountainous Giglit-Baltistan territory.

Two pilots and a crew member were also killed, and five others, including envoys from Poland and the Netherlands, were injured.

Pakistan’s Air Force chief said Friday that initial reports indicate the deadly MI-17 crash was an accident.

But a Pakistan Taliban spokesman who posted on an Urdu-language website Friday said a “Special Task Force” was responsible for shooting it down. The post was translated by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online jihadist messaging. According to the spokesman’s message, the Taliban used a shoulder-fired missile to target the helicopters.

He claimed Sharif was the initial target, but that he survived because he was in a second helicopter that was not struck by the missile. It was not immediately clear if the two helicopters were indeed traveling in a convoy, but the Taliban claim — if true — would raise alarms in Washington because of fears that the group might now be able to successfully target American military helicopters in neighboring Afghanistan.

FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.