‘Taliban say they downed US-led chopper’

Taliban claim that they have shot down a US-led helicopter and surveillance drone in west and south of Afghanistan, Press TV reports.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said on Tuesday that the helicopter has been shot down in Bala Buluk District of western Farah Province and “all foreign troops on board are dead.”

He added that the militant group has shot downed a surveillance plane belonging to foreign forces in southern Kandahar Province.

Afghan officials have confirmed to Press TV that a US drone crashed in Maruf District in Kandahar. They say Afghan forces handed over back the pieces of the unmanned aircraft to US troops stationed in the province.

The Taliban claim they have downed several US-led aircraft in different parts of Afghanistan over the past few months.

Attacks on foreign troops have increased recently as Taliban militants have announced the beginning of their spring offensive across Afghanistan.

The militant group said it would use “every possible tactic” to inflict casualties on Afghan and US-led forces, specifically mentioning insider and bomb attacks.

According to official figures released by the website icasualties.org, 87 US-led troops lost their lives in the country since the beginning of this year, most of them as a result of militant attacks and roadside bombs.

The rising death toll of US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan has also prompted growing opposition to the Afghan war in NATO member states and other countries that have contributed troops to the military occupation.

The US-led war in Afghanistan removed the Taliban from power in 2001, but insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.