Taliban uses US' Black Hawk helicopter that they left behind & crashes it; 3 killed

As many as 3 people died when a US-manufactured Black Hawk Helicopter crashed in Afghanistan's Kabul, the Taliban's Defence Ministry said on Saturday. According to the statement released by the Taliban's Defence Ministry's spokesperson Enaytullah Khowrazmi, a Black Hawk Helicopter used for training purposes crashed inside the National Defence University's campus in Kabul. 

Adding further, Khowrazmi said that three people died in the National Defence University helicopter crash while five others were injured. Speaking about the reason for the crash, the Taliban said that the chopper crashed due to some technical failures. Notably, after the Taliban seized Afghanistan following the US exit in 2021, the group took control of some of the US-manufactured aircraft including the Black Hawk helicopters.

However, it still remains unclear how many of them are still operational as the US forces purposely damaged some of the military hardware when they exited Afghanistan. Also, some of the helicopters were flown to central Asian countries including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the then Afghan forces.

Man hung from Black Hawk helicopter over Kandahar

Earlier in August 2021, shocking visuals emerged from Afghanistan when a video showing a man hanging from an American Black Hawk helicopter as it flies over Kandahar city came to light. The incident came after the last American troops left Afghanistan, officially ending their 20-year-long military involvement in Afghanistan.

According to reports, the man who was seen hanging by the Balck Hawk helicopter was believed to have worked for the Americans as an interpreter. Moreover, the Black Hawk flying over Kandahar was believed to be a part of American defence assets and equipment left behind by the US troops.