New Delhi: In a major air mishap in Afghanistan, an Afghan army helicopter crashed on Wednesday killing all 25 people on board. Those dead included the deputy corps commander of the western zone, officials said. The accident took place in the western Farah province as the helicopter was taking flight in bad weather. The helicopter crashed around 9:10 a.m. (0440 GMT), shortly after taking off from the mountainous Anar Dara district heading toward the nearby Herat province, the Associated Press quoted Mohammad Naser Mehri, spokesman for the Farah governor as saying.

Those on board included corps commander, General Naimudullah Khalil, and two members of the Farah provincial council, its chairman, Farid Bakhtawar, and Jamila Amini, one of only two women on the nine-member council.

Provincial council member Dadullah Qaneh said the helicopter hit a mountain peak in poor weather en route to neighbouring Herat province, said report in Aljazeera.  A Taliban spokesperson said fighters belonging to the armed group shot it down. Senior Afghan government and military officials often travel by helicopter in regions where the Taliban has a large presence, it reported.

It was the second army helicopter crash in Farah in recent months. In a helicopter crash in the month of September, five crew members had died. The crash has been blamed on a technical failure without elaborating.

Suicide attack kills seven

In another incident elsewhere in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber struck outside the country's largest prison on the edge of the capital, Kabul, killing seven people, including prison workers and security personnel.  The attacker targeted a bus carrying prison workers, he said. The sprawling Pul-e-Charkhi prison houses hundreds of inmates, including scores of Taliban insurgents.(

(with inputs from agencies)