ISLAMABAD: Eight Pakistani troops including a senior general were killed on Wednesday when a military helicopter crashed in an insurgency-hit tribal region bordering Afghanistan, the army said.
The chopper came down near the village of Tanai in the mountainous tribal district of South Waziristan after a "technical malfunction," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said.
The crash killed Major General Javed Sultan, the commanding officer of the Kohat garrison near the Afghan border, two brigadiers, two pilots and three other personnel, the spokesman said.
South Waziristan has been wracked by fierce fighting between Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants and government forces in recent weeks, although the violence has tailed off in recent days.
The rugged region is also the hideout of an Al-Qaeda-linked militant commander, Baitullah Mehsud, who is accused by Pakistani and US officials of masterminding the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
Military spokesman Abbas however ruled out any "hostile activity." Several Pakistani army choppers have crashed in the country's mountainous northwest in recent years.
A helicopter escorting President Pervez Musharraf to Pakistani Kashmir in October last year crashed and burst into flames, killing four troops. Musharraf's own helicopter was not affected.
Six Pakistani soldiers were killed when another Mi-17 crashed days after the catastrophic October 2005 Pakistan earthquake.
The helicopter reportedly came down between the towns of Jandola and Wana. Maj Gen Sultan was a senior officer in charge of fighting Islamist Taleban militants near the Afghan border.
The helicopter reportedly came down between the towns of Jandola and Wana.
Other copter crash victims included Brig Saeed Khan, Brig Afzal Cheema, Lt Col Umar Farooq, Captain Haroon, Capt Shahzad, Capt Naveed and Naik Amir.
