Three killed as Taliban crash US helicopter in training exercise

The accident killed two pilots and one crew member who was on board, a further five people were injured.

Following the crash, Enayatullah Khwarizmi, spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence said: "An American Black Hawk helicopter, which was flown for training, crashed due to a technical problem inside the campus of the National Defence University."

Footage of the crash has been circulating on social media and shows the pilot lose control of the chopper, which nose-dives to the ground.

Other footage on social media shows a wider-shot of a large cloud of smoke around the helicopter crash site.

The Taliban took control of some US aircraft after their troops left the country in August last year.

At that time, President Biden was criticised for withdrawing his troops from the warn-torn country.

In August 2021, he said in a press conference: "I stand squarely behind my decision.

"After 20 years I learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US troops."

The President then spoke on Afghan leaders fleeing the country.

Biden continued: "American troops can not and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves."

On their way out, American troops left armoury behind which the Taliban seized, but deliberately damaged some of their military hardware.

Afghan troops also flew some helicopters to central Asian countries, such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

This chopper incident comes soon after an explosion in the Shai neighbourhood of Kabul, Afghanistan.

A bicycle bomb exploded and killed three people, according to a spokesperson for the capital’s police chief.

No one has taken responsibility for the blast, however, the Islamic State (IS) group has admitted to a similar recent attack in the country.

The extremist group has launched a wave of attacks on Taliban targets and minority groups.