General, 7 Others Killed in Pakistan Military Helicopter Crash

[bemildred]

Source: VOA

A Pakistani army helicopter has crashed in South Waziristan, killing eight people, including a general.

Pakistani army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the crash Wednesday, was an accident - apparently caused by a technical problem.

He said the crash killed Major General Javed Sultan, the commanding officer of the Kohat garrison in South Waziristan. Two brigadier generals also were among those killed.

The accident took place in Pakistan's tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, where security forces have been fighting Taliban and al-Qaida-linked insurgents.

Read more: http://voanews.com/english/2008-02-06-voa33.cfm

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Three generals, actually.

[smiley_glad_hands]

1. "Accident" eom

[Binka]

2. My first thought too

Pervez probably had a beef with those guys.

[bemildred]

3. Could be the folks in the "tribal areas" got better weapons ...

But your theory works too. Mushhead does seem to be in a precarious position. Still, three generals is a lot.

[daleo]

7. Maybe they knew something about Benizar Bhutto's assination?

Although there are many possibilities other than this one.

[blondeatlast]

4. My thoughts as well. nt

[Ian David]

5. Just like the accidents that killed all the Pakistanis implicated in 9/11? n/t

[yurbud]

6. but not the guy that wired money to Mohammed Atta?

[cliss]

8. I wonder,

were they all Pakistanis?

Any Americans on board? I'm always surprised when I hear that US forces are in Pakistan. I'm not sure where - or how many. But ~ we've lost US troops in other "accidents" as well.

[chromotone]

9. Maybe they hit their heads on the sunroof?

I understand that can be fatal...

[bemildred]

10. Pakistan: 8 Killed in Helicopter Crash

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - A Pakistani army helicopter crashed Wednesday in northwestern Pakistan, killing three generals and five other soldiers, officials said.

The aircraft went down in South Waziristan, a rugged tribal region along the border with Afghanistan, the army's top spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said.

The area has been the scene of intense fighting between Pakistani forces and Islamic militants, but Abbas said initial reports indicated the crash occurred due to ``a technical fault in the helicopter.''

All the dead were Pakistanis and included Maj. Gen. Javed Sultan, the top military commander for South Waziristan, Abbas said on Pakistan's Aaj TV. A military statement said the other victims included two brigadiers, a lieutenant colonel, three captains and an enlisted man.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7286797,00.html

[bemildred]

11. Pakistani aircraft in border crash

A Pakistani military helicopter has crashed in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, killing a senior army officer and seven other personnel, the army says.

The crash killed Major-General Javed Sultan, the commanding officer of the Kohat garrison near the Afghan border, two brigadiers and five other personnel, officials said.

Major-General Athar Abbas, Pakistan's chief military spokesman, said on Wednesday that the aircraft had come down near the village of Tanai in the tribal district of South Waziristan after a "technical malfunction".

There has been fighting in South Waziristan between the Taliban and al-Qaeda and government forces in recent weeks, although it has subsided in recent days.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/94421FFE-E6A9-4EE2-A854-BF5F163005EF.htm