Turkish and Afghan officials reported a Turkish military helicopter crashed into a home near the Afghan capital on Friday, killing two young girls on the ground and 12 Turkish soldiers on board. A woman and another child were injured. The Sikorsky helicopter was on a mission for U.S.-led NATO forces when it crashed near Kabul, reported the Turkish military. In a statement, the Turkish military said, “Twelve of our military personnel on board were martyred.
“It is a grave accident, our grief is deep,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. He also told reporters that the helicopter appeared as if it were trying to make an emergency landing while trying to avoid houses. The helicopter clipped one house, then crashed into another, reported an Afghan resident who witnessed the helicopter go down. The accident was the deadliest accident in Afghanistan for NATO forces since August 2011, when 30 American soldiers were killed when a Chinook helicopter was shot down in Wardak province, in the center of the country.
